diff --git a/lib/vtls/schannel.c b/lib/vtls/schannel.c
index 6f94c7e349..430a41c13d 100644
--- a/lib/vtls/schannel.c
+++ b/lib/vtls/schannel.c
@@ -1171,9 +1171,11 @@ schannel_connect_step1(struct Curl_cfilter *cf, struct Curl_easy *data)
   if(!backend->cred) {
     char *snihost;
     result = schannel_acquire_credential_handle(cf, data);
-    if(result != CURLE_OK) {
+    if(result)
       return result;
-    }
+    /* schannel_acquire_credential_handle() sets backend->cred accordingly or
+       it returns error otherwise. */
+
     /* A hostname associated with the credential is needed by
        InitializeSecurityContext for SNI and other reasons. */
     snihost = Curl_ssl_snihost(data, hostname, NULL);