Credit Suisse enjoyed a Sfr5bn (€3.3bn) swing in third-quarter profitability at its investment bank, as a trading turnaround propelled pre-tax profits to Sfr1.7bn, beating the mark set in the second quarter and marking a return to the black compared with a multi-billion Swiss franc loss in the third quarter last year.

The Swiss bank, which was nursing a Sfr3.2bn loss at the investment bank arm this time last year, this morning opened the third-quarter reporting season for Europe's biggest banks.