Swiss National Bank ends 2023 in the red

(Patria) - The Swiss National Bank (SNB) confirmed today that it operated at a loss in 2023, joining a group of central monetary institutions in leading economies that have seen interest rates rise push them into the red.

The SNB announced that it operated with a loss of 3.2 billion Swiss francs (3.34 billion euros) last year.

However, the deficit is significantly smaller than in 2022, when it reached as much as 132.5 billion francs due to the decline in the value of its stock and bond portfolio, making it the largest loss since the SNB was founded.

In 2023, the Swiss National Bank recorded income of four billion francs from foreign currency positions, after a loss of 131.4 billion francs in 2022.

A stronger franc weighed on them last year, with a loss of 58 billion francs related to currency exchange rates.

Income from gold reserves amounted to 1.7 billion francs, more than four times higher than in the previous year.

The SNB also recorded 1.4 billion francs in income from the emergency loan to rescue the struggling Credit Suisse.

However, a net loss of 8.5 billion francs on domestic currency positions, more than eight times higher than in 2022, prevailed, as the SNB paid higher interest rates on overnight deposits to commercial banks as part of its tightened monetary policy to curb inflation.

The bank will therefore not pay a dividend to shareholders, the federal government, and cantons this year either.

With a negative result in 2023, the SNB joined the European Central Bank (ECB), the German Bundesbank, and the US Federal Reserve, which operated at a loss of 7.9 billion euros, 21.6 billion euros, and 114.3 billion dollars respectively last year due to increased interest rates.