C.Suisse posts $5.2 billion Q4 net loss
But the Swiss bank said it had a made a "strong start" in 2009 and was profitable across all divisions year to date.
Switzerland's second-largest bank said on Wednesday that its net loss for the full year was 8.2 billion francs.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the bank to turn in a 4 billion franc net loss for the quarter and a 6.3 billion franc net loss for 2008. Swiss newspapers had said Credit Suisse's annual loss could be as high as 8 billion francs.
Credit Suisse's results come one day after Swiss competitor UBS announced a full-year net loss of nearly 20 billion francs, the biggest loss in Swiss corporate history.
Credit Suisse said on December 4 it would slash 5,300 jobs as it had made a net loss of about 3 billion francs in October and November.
(Reporting by Lisa Jucca; editing by Karen Foster)
($1=1.161 Swiss Franc)