Credit Suisse's wealth management division posted a loss of CHF 389 million ($333 million), a 57% decline from the same time period last year. Still, the division was a comparative bright spot in an otherwise dismal third quarter. The Zurich-based parent company reported a CHF 1.26 billion ($1.1 billion) loss for the quarter.

The drop in the wealth management division's profit was largely blamed on the firm's settlement with the New York Attorney General's office and the North American Securities Administrators Association over the meltdown in the auction-rate securities market. In September, the firm agreed to repurchase $550 million of the securities from clients.

Despite the tough market conditions, the global wealth management business managed to attract CHF 11.3 billion ($9.7 billion) in new assets over the quarter, including CHF 4.3 billion ($3.7 billion) in the U.S. The U.S. wealth management business currently oversees CHF 112.4 billion ($96.5 billion) in client assets, down 3.7% from the same quarter last year.