Credit Suisse flags 6,500 job cuts in 2017 after $2.4 billion loss

Credit Suisse will cut up to 6,500 more jobs in 2017, as Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam pushes ahead with a major restructuring which he said on Tuesday might now no longer include floating the bank's Swiss business.

The plan to spin off a minority stake in the Swiss banking division was partly to raise cash to bolster the group's capital, but this improved more than expected in the fourth quarter.

The additional job cuts come after Switzerland's second-biggest bank reported a 2.44 billion Swiss franc ($2.43 billion) net loss for 2016. But Thiam struck an optimistic tone for the year ahead.

"We are now well-placed to capture growth and benefit from improving market conditions as a result of the tough actions we took in 2016," he told a news conference.

Since taking over just over 18 months ago, Thiam has been on a cost-cutting drive while shifting the business towards wealth management and putting less emphasis on investment banking.

The bank cut a net 7,250 jobs in 2016 and said there would between 5,500 and 6,500 more will this year. It employed around 47,000 people at the end of 2016.

Credit Suisse did not specify where the extra cuts would come but said they would include contractors, consultants and staff.

The 2016 loss -- the bank's second straight year in the red -- came largely on the back of a roughly $2 billion charge to settle U.S. claims the bank misled investors in the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

RELATED: Discover the 'most hated' credit card companies: