CS No Comment on Talk of Interest in Bear Stearns

ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) declined comment on speculation on Tuesday that it might be interested in bidding for U.S. investment bank Bear Stearns BSC.N, which suffered the first quarterly loss in its history in 2007.

A spokesman for Credit Suisse said the bank did not comment on market rumors. A Bear Stearns spokesman in New York also declined to comment on the rumor.

Credit Suisse has previously said it is not interested in making a large "transformational" acquisition of a competitor, although it has made purchases of smaller companies to strengthen its wealth management and investment banking businesses.

The Swiss bank has so far been relatively unscathed by the meltdown in U.S. subprime mortgages, which has forced banks such as UBS (UBSN.VX), Citigroup (C.N) and Merrill Lynch MER.N to take billions of dollars of writedowns on their exposures.

The subprime debacle has also fueled speculation that banks such as Bear Stearns, which have been hit by big subprime-related losses, could be vulnerable to takeover by stronger rivals.

Credit Suisse shares closed up 6 percent while Bear Stearns stock was trading up 4.8 percent at $77.16 by 1744 GMT.

(Additional reporting by Mark McSherry in New York; Editing by David Holmes)