Credit Suisse said it would repurchase parts of 12 dollar-denominated bonds, for up to a total $2 billion.

It offered to buy back eight euro and sterling bonds it issued, for up to a total of €1 billion, equivalent to around $980 million.

By taking money out of the treasury the new CFO Dixit Joshi needs to prove he has creative ways to boost capital. And this should reassure shareholders.

This could also send a clear message to investors that Zurich bank’s financial position is still strong. Credit investors now can be reimbursed, even if the bank’s cash assets decrease.

Joshi’s move is like saying: We give you your money back, that’s how much cash we have! The lender’s liquid cash was around $230 billion in June.

The markets reacted positively, with Credit Suisse shares rising by 7%, giving it a $12 billion market value.

The cost of insuring its debt became leaner, with its five-year credit default swap (CDS) dropping by about 20 basis points.

Nevertheless, Credit Suisse’s five-year CDS is well above UBS and Deutsche Bank. One contingent convertible bond (CoCos) still trades higher than in late September.

This ideal product for undercapitalized banks, allowing them to basically convert their debt to stock, is trading now with a 14% yield, as against 12% just a few weeks ago.

Credit Suisse has scheduled the announcement of a new strategy on Oct. 27, so there’s little chance to get those numbers down till then.

According to Reuters, one option is to raise equity to put the bank’s capital levels beyond reproach and fund a massive shrinkage of the sales and trading division.