The Fatal Flaw in Credit Suisse’s Last-Ditch Attempt to Save Itself

Credit Suisse Group AG’s new-look investment bank, CS First Boston, was supposed to help salvage the lender. Instead, it may have hastened its fall.

The Swiss bank, buffeted by years of missteps and scandals, had a choice last year: Raise even billions more in new stock to shut down its scandal-prone investment bank or pull out the best parts and try to make money. It went for the second option, and miscalculated investors’ willingness to give it one more shot.