The Swiss National Bank (SNB) expects to post a profit of CHF26 billion ($28 billion) for 2021, a windfall made exclusively from its growing foreign currency holdings.
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El Banco Nacional Suizo prevé ganancias por 26 000 millones de francos
The central bank will likely distribute CHF6 billion to the confederation and cantons under the terms of a profit-sharing agreement that was made more generous last year.
In a statement on FridayExternal link, the SNB said it also expects to issue a CHF15 dividend payment per share after setting aside CHF8.7 billion for its currency reserves.
The performance of the central bank’s balance sheet slowed slightly in the second half of 2021, after a CHF43.5 billion profit was announced for the first six months of the year.
According to Swiss public broadcaster, SRF, the main cause of the weaker performance from July onwards was probably a strengthening of the Swiss franc against other currencies.
Making a profit is not part of the SNB’s mandate, which is to aim at price stability while supporting the overall Swiss economy.
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The SNB recorded a profit of CHF20.9 billion (almost $23 billion) in 2020, less than half of the CHF48.9 billion it made in 2019.
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