The Swiss government and Swiss National Bank (SNB) have concluded a new agreement on the distribution of the SNB’s profit.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
The agreement will cover the financial years 2011 to 2015. The SNB said in a statement on Monday that if the distribution reserve is positive, it would make an annual distribution payment of SFr1 billion ($1.09 billion) to the confederation and the cantons.
However, the bank warned that it was “unclear when the next distribution payment will take place, since this will depend on future developments in the financial markets”.
The new agreement covers the financial years 2011 to 2015, and stipulates that, before any distribution payments can be made, the distribution reserve must turn positive again.
The previous agreement from 2008 needed to be reviewed since the SNB reported a substantial SFr21.5 billion loss last year. That led to a shortfall of SFr5 billion in the bank’s distribution reserve.
If the financial situation were to improve greatly, leading to reserves of more than SFr10 billion, the distribution payment would exceed SFr1 billion, the statement added.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Raising exchange rate seen as risky strategy
This content was published on
Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann has warned that the strong franc could cost 40,000 Swiss jobs. But some observers fear that raising the exchange rate ceiling could chain the central bank to potentially damaging consequences. The euro has been in free fall against the franc since the financial crisis three years ago. Fears that the…
This content was published on
The 21st Europe Forum, held in Lucerne this week, chose “ways out of the debt crisis” as this year’s theme. Taking place a few days after the G20 summit in Cannes, it couldn’t have been more topical. Harold James, an economic historian at Princeton, pointed out that from the Spanish and French kings of the…
This content was published on
Scandinavian countries have recently joined nations as diverse as Japan, Brazil, Australia and Canada on currency watch as exporters weigh up the potential consequences of soaring prices for their goods. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) tried in vain to haul back the inflating franc by buying massive sums of euros and cutting interest rates to…
This content was published on
His journey takes us to the heart of a $7,000 billion secret. The Swiss hold a third of all global offshore assets, shored up by conservatism and strict banking secrecy laws. With half of this market, just two banks – UBS and Credit Suisse – dominate the heart of the banking sector.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.