The Swiss National Bank raised its first estimate for January slightly up and confirmed in a press release on Monday March 6 that it is eliminating payments made to the Confederation and the cantons. “This loss makes any distribution for the 2022 financial year impossible,” she said while detailing the final figures for the past year.
The SNB usually gives them part of its profit. In 2021, it had made a profit of 26.3 billion francs and had paid them a total amount of 6 billion francs.
On this topic: Central banks face abysmal losses
In 2022, following the strong shocks on the financial markets since the start of the war in Ukraine, the central bank suffered a heavy loss of 131.5 billion francs on its investments in foreign securities, she underlines. Its stock of gold, which remained unchanged, saw its value increase by 0.7%, generating a capital gain of 408.5 million francs.
Next decision on March 23
But its positions in francs also suffered a loss which amounted to 1 billion francs. To conduct its monetary policy, the central bank relies on a large investment portfolio that includes gold, stocks and bonds.
Read also: Inflation will still set the pace in 2023
For seven years, it had conducted an ultra-accommodating monetary policy in order to combat the overvaluation of the franc through a negative interest rate, supplemented by market interventions to limit the appreciation of its currency, which which has swelled its foreign currency reserves.
Only, with the acceleration of inflation, it changed course in the middle of the year last year and gradually raised its rates. In December, its key rate was raised to 1% at its last quarterly monetary policy meeting. It is due to announce its next rate decision on March 23.