TAKING THE PULSE: Swiss banks continued to struggle in the second quarter amid turmoil racking financial markets, as investment banking write-downs pile up. Of Switzerland's three largest banks by market capitalization, UBS AG, which has posted more than $37 billion in write-downs so far, has garnered the most attention.

By comparison, Credit Suisse AG has fared better, though by no means unscathed because of its strong position in offering leveraged debt. While investment banking is in focus, investors are also closely watching how much fallout the major banks' money-management arms are suffering going into the summer holidays, which are traditionally slow months. Julius Baer Holdings AG, with no investment banking business, will be taken as a bellwether for the raft of smaller private banks set to report six-month results shortly.