Like most central banks the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is tasked with monetary stability. However, in the process it can inadvertently generate large profits and losses. SNB – BernWhen monetary policy is expansionist and the resulting assets held by the SNB rise in value it can generate large profits as it has over the last few years. However, when the Swiss franc strengthens and asset values slump the bank can generate large losses as it did in the first half of 2022. Added to this are four possible supplementary distributions of CHF 1 billion each, which are made if the bank’s net profit reaches the thresholds of CHF 10 billion, CHF 20 billion, CHF 30 billion and CHF 40 billion respectively.
