By Joshua Kirby
The Swiss central bank won't pay out any dividend for 2023 after a second straight year of losses, having twice hiked interest rates to combat inflation.
The Swiss National Bank's provisional net loss of around 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.5 billion) was down to a loss on its Swiss franc positions, totalling around CHF8.5 billion, it said Tuesday. The bank conversely made a profit on its foreign-currency positions and gold holdings.
The loss "precludes a distribution for the ...year," the SNB said, adding that this applies both to shareholder dividends and to payout agreements to the Swiss confederation and individual cantons, or states. The loss in 2023 follows a much wider shortfall the previous year; for 2022, the SNB booked a net loss of CHF132.5 billion as an appreciating franc and market turmoil hit the bank's income. The SNB similarly ruled out paying a dividend for that year.
The bank twice increased its key policy rate in 2023 as it fought to bring down price inflation that, while never reaching the spikes recorded in the U.S. and many European nations, stood at high levels by Swiss standards, reaching a peaking of 3.5% in the summer of 2022 and remaining elevated for much of 2023. The SNB hiked its key rate--which had been negative until 2022--twice over the course of last year, taking it to 1.75%.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-09-24 0543ET
