Swiss National Bank earns $16.5 billion profit on gold, currency reserves
Switzerland’s central bank is listed on the stock exchange, and given its huge balance sheet, swings in asset prices have a big impact on its results
The Swiss National Bank earned a profit of 15.1 billion francs ($16.5 billion) for the first nine months of the year, helped by gains on its foreign currency positions, which includes equities, and gold holdings.
Although it suffered a loss of more than 22 billion francs in exchange-rate related losses, interest and dividend income plus rising stock prices helped to offset that hit, according to a release on Friday.
Switzerland’s central bank is listed on the stock exchange, and given its huge balance sheet, swings in asset prices have a big impact on its results.
These earnings, however, have no bearing on monetary policy. The dividend paid to shareholders is determined by the SNB’s full-year profit.
The SNB, which is using a deposit rate of -0.75% to control the value of the franc, collected 1 billion francs due to the policy.
Separate data on Friday showed the proportion of its foreign exchange reserves invested in equities remained unchanged at 20% in the third quarter, with the rest in highly rated government bonds.
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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.