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Swiss central bank posts record 2024 profit of nearly $90 billion
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 3, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 3, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
The Swiss National Bank achieved a record profit of $89.50 billion in 2024, driven by booming equity markets and rising gold prices.
By John Revill
ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss National Bank posted a record annual profit of 80.7 billion Swiss francs ($89.50 billion) in 2024, the central bank said on Monday, riding on the back of booming equity markets, rising gold prices and a stronger U.S. dollar.
The bank, which easily beat its previous record of 54 billion francs in 2017, saw a sharp turnaround from its 2023 loss of 3.2 billion, and slightly bettered January's provisional expectations for full-year profit of about 80 billion francs.
During 2024 the SNB made a profit of 67.3 billion francs from its positions in foreign currency bonds and equities, as well as a valuation gain of 21.2 billion from gold holdings.
The performance means the SNB can pay out to the Swiss central and regional governments for the first time since 2021, along with a dividend to shareholders.
Net profit came to 15.9 billion francs, the SNB said, after factoring in its negative distribution reserve of 53.2 billion francs.
That would allow a dividend payment of 15 francs a share and profit distribution to the federal government and cantons worth 3 billion francs.
A third goes to the central government and two-thirds to the cantons, the SNB said.
However, it was too early to say how the SNB would perform in 2025, said UBS economist Alessandro Bee, as much depended on the policy of the new U.S. administration.
"In a benign scenario, equities have further upside potential from which the SNB would also benefit," he said.
"In case of a trade war, with lower equity prices, higher inflation and higher interest rate, the financial result of the SNB would be adversely affected."
($1=0.9017 Swiss francs)
(Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Friederike Heine and Clarence Fernandez)
The Swiss National Bank posted a record annual profit of 80.7 billion Swiss francs, equivalent to approximately $89.50 billion.
The 2024 profit significantly surpassed the previous record of 54 billion francs set in 2017 and marked a turnaround from a loss of 3.2 billion francs in 2023.
The SNB's profit was driven by gains from foreign currency bonds and equities, totaling 67.3 billion francs, along with a valuation gain of 21.2 billion francs from gold holdings.
Yes, the SNB plans to distribute profits to the Swiss central and regional governments for the first time since 2021, along with a dividend payment to shareholders.
The outlook for the SNB in 2025 is uncertain and largely depends on the policy of the new U.S. administration, with potential scenarios ranging from further equity gains to adverse effects from a trade war.
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