SNB Reports Nine-Month Profit on Foreign Currencies and Gold
(Bloomberg) — The Swiss National Bank reported a solid nine-month profit thanks to its foreign-currency portfolio and gold holdings.
The SNB earned 44.2 billion francs ($5.4 billion) from January through September, it said in a statement on Friday. That raised the likelihood of a year-end payout to the Swiss government.
The central bank’s hoard of assets in foreign currencies — including its large equities portfolio — delivered a profit of 43.3 billion francs. The value of the gold held by the central bank increased by 1.2 billion francs.
Positions in Swiss francs generated a gain of 0.1 billion francs. Those earnings include negative interest charged on oversized commercial-bank reserves held at the SNB. Sight deposits exceeding a certain threshold are subject to this since the central bank cut its benchmark rate to zero last year.
The SNB’s results don’t influence monetary policy and are heavily influenced by asset price changes, with quarterly numbers often having little bearing on final result for the year.
They are however fiscally important for the federal government and Switzerland’s cantons, or states. In cases of annual losses, the central bank at times can’t make a payout, which is particularly painful for smaller Swiss regions.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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