Swiss National Bank posts profit of CHF25.2 billion

The SNB posts a profit of CHF25.2 billion in the first half of the year Keystone-SDA

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) posted a profit of CHF25.17 billion ($39.2 billion) in the first half of the year, mainly thanks to its foreign currency holdings. Its gold reserves dragged the result down.

Foreign currency positions generated a profit of CHF31.7 billion, the Swiss National Bank announced on Friday. This figure consists mainly of gains on equity securities and equity instruments, totalling CHF22.9 billion.

Interest income totalled CHF6.7 billion, dividend income CHF1.7 billion, whilst foreign exchange gains amounted to CHF2.5 billion.

The SNB had to contend with a loss of CHF1.7 billion relating to interest-bearing securities and interest rate instruments, as well as interest expenses of CHF0.4 billion.

Loss on gold

The gold holdings, for their part, generated a capital loss of CHF6.4 billion. As of June 30, the price per kilogramme of gold had fallen significantly from its value at the end of December, dropping to CHF104,812 from CHF110,919.

Positions in Swiss francs contributed CHF0.1 billion to the result. This amount stems mainly from interest earned on funds held in current accounts and from operations designed to absorb excess liquidity, the central bank states in its press release.

An allocation to the provision for currency reserves will be made from the profit of CHF25.2 billion. This will be finalised at the end of the year.

The second quarter result stood at CHF25.67 billion, compared with a loss of CHF0.5 billion in the first quarter.

Commenting on its results, the SNB points out that sharp fluctuations are the norm and that it is difficult to draw conclusions from them regarding the result for the current financial year.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.