ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) shares plunged to five-year lows on Friday, falling faster than Swiss peers and the European banking sector as investors fretted over the impact of the financial crisis on the bank's earnings.

Chief Executive Brady Dougan said this week the environment remained challenging in the short term, but the lender would emerge as a winner in the long run.

Swiss newspaper Neuer Zuercher Zeitung reported on Thursday that Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, could post a loss for the third quarter. [nL9245611]

It is due to report results Oct. 23.

"One trigger could be the report from the Neue Zuercher Zeitung yesterday, according to which Dougan said there could have been a loss in the third quarter," said a trader.

By 1110 GMT, Credit Suisse share were 15.4 percent lower at 34.58 Swiss francs after dipping to its lowest since 2003 at 33.90 francs earlier -- some 41 percent under last Friday's close.

Swiss banks UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) -- which until now has been hit harder than Credit Suisse by the credit crisis -- and Julius Baer (BAER.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) held up well in comparison, with respective falls of 2.8 and 1.6 percent, against a 9.6 percent fall in the European banking index .

Still, traders said the fundamentals of the stock made Credit Suisse look very cheap at the moment.

"The Credit Suisse stock has been oversold. All of the financials have been far oversold, but people have to regain the trust to buy," a second trader said.

(Reporting by Jason Rhodes; Editing by David Cowell)