Tag Archive: Swiss National Bank

South Korea and Switzerland set a currency swap

2018-02-10

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2018-02-10

South Korea and Switzerland are entering into a bilateral currency swap agreement, it was announced on Friday. The move is aimed at strengthening buffers against external financial shocks for both countries. “The swap agreement enables Korean won and Swiss francs to be purchased and repurchased between the two central banks, up to a limit of KRW11.2 trillion, or CHF10 billion [$10.6 billion],” a Swiss National Bank statement saidexternal link.

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SNB Rejects Vollgeld and Questions ‘Reserves for All’

2018-01-17

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2018-01-17

Swiss National Bank
In the NZZ, Peter Fischer reports that SNB president Thomas Jordan rejects the Vollgeld initiative and stops short of endorsing the ‘reserves for all’ proposal.

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Swiss franc could hit 1.22 by year end, according to economists

2018-01-15

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2018-01-15

According to Le Matin, economists at Swiss Life think the rise of the Swiss franc could be over and predict it will weaken to 1.22 to the euro by the end of the year. At the same time they point to risks that could send the currency in the opposite direction, such as the election in Italy, Brexit negotiations and uncertainty surrounding government in Germany.

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Dividendes de la BNS: le compte n’y est pas

2018-01-11

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2018-01-11

Swiss National Bank
La Banque nationale suisse s’attend à un bénéfice de 54 milliards de francs pour l’exercice 2017. Celui-ci résulte de: Un gain de 49 milliards de francs sur ses positions en monnaies étrangères. D’une plus-value de 3 milliards de francs sur l’or. D’un bénéfice de 2 milliards de francs sur ses positions en franc.

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UBS-Präsident Axel Weber wird sein blaues Wunder erleben – mit der Zahlungsunfähigkeit der SNB

2018-01-10

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2018-01-10

Swiss National Bank
Axel Weber hat zwei Seelen in seiner Brust: eine als Ex-Notenbanker, eine als UBS-Präsident. Als Präsident der Deutschen Bundesbank hatte der Deutsche Weber gesagt, es gäbe keine Einlösungsverpflichtung der Deutschen Bundesbank für eine Banknote. „Wirtschaftlich gesehen sind unsere Banknoten eine Verbindlichkeit des Eurosystems.

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Swiss National Bank expects annual profit of CHF 54 billion

2018-01-09

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2018-01-09

Swiss National Bank
According to provisional calculations, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will report a profit in the order of CHF 54 billion for the 2017 financial year. The profit on foreign currency positions amounted to CHF 49 billion. A valuation gain of CHF 3 billion was recorded on gold holdings. The net result on Swiss franc positions amounted to CHF 2 billion.

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In Unprecedented Intervention, Swiss Central Bank Bails Out Firm That Prints Swiss Banknotes

2017-12-21

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2017-12-21

Swiss National Bank
  In the most ironic story of the day, the company that makes the paper that Swiss banknotes are printed on was just bailed out by the money-printing, stock-purchasing, plunge-protecting, savior-of-global equities…Swiss National Bank. While The SNB has a long and checkered history of buying shares in companies… as we have detailed numerous times.

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Swiss National Bank acquires majority stake in Landqart AG

2017-12-21

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2017-12-21

Money Swiss Franc
Yesterday, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) acquired 90% of the shares in Landqart AG. The remaining 10% of the share capital will be purchased by Orell Füssli Holding Ltd. The vendor is a subsidiary of Fortress Paper Ltd, which is listed on the Toronto stock exchange.

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Bubble Watch: Warning Signs That The Everything Bubble Will Burst in 2018

2017-12-20

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2017-12-20

Producer Price Indexes, Dec 2000 - 2017
I believe 2018 will be the year inflation arrives. The reason, as I’ve noted throughout mid-2017, is that multiple Central Banks, particularly the European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of Japan (BoJ) and Swiss National Bank (SNB) have maintained emergency levels of QE and money printing, despite the fact that globally the economy is performing relatively well.

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Swiss Perfectionism

2017-12-18

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2017-12-18

Kostensteigerung bei der SNB, 2006 - 2016
In Der Bund, Adrian Sulc comments on the Swiss National Bank’s perfectionism. Keine andere Schweizer Organisation kommuniziert so professionell wie die SNB, keine andere Organisation kann so gut dichthalten. Perfectionism is costly. Der Personalbestand ist in den letzten fünf Jahren um 18 Prozent auf 795 Vollzeitstellen gestiegen. … Die durchschnittlichen Lohnkosten pro Mitarbeiter betragen mittlerweile 155 000 Franken pro Jahr. Dies weil gemäss...

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Jim Grant: “Markets Trust Too Much In The Presence Of Central Banks”

2017-12-15

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2017-12-15

James Grant, Wall Street expert and editor of the renowned investment newsletter «Grant’s Interest Rate Observer», warns of the unseen consequences of super low interest rate and questions the extraordinary actions of the Swiss National Bank. Nearly ten years after the financial crisis, extraordinary monetary policy has become the norm.

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News conference Swiss National Bank, Thomas Jordan

2017-12-14

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2017-12-14

SNB Chairman Jordan speaks to media during a news conference in Bern
It is a pleasure for me to welcome you to the Swiss National Bank’s news conference. I will begin by explaining our monetary policy decision and our assessment of the economic situation. I will then hand over to Fritz Zurbrügg, who will speak about current developments in the area of financial stability. After that, Andréa Maechler will review the situation on the financial markets and the progress in reference interest rate reform. Finally, we...

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News conference Swiss National Bank 2017, Fritz Zurbrügg

2017-12-14

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2017-12-14

Fritz Zurbrugg
In my remarks today, I would like to address some of the developments currently taking place in the field of financial stability. I shall look at the big banks first before turning to the domestically focused banks. I will conclude with a few words on the new banknote series.

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Less Retail Jobs, More Amazon Robots: Get Used To It

2017-12-12

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2017-12-12

Robots
When it comes to job creation in the United States, President Trump will be displeased to hear the latest findings from Quartz: 170,000 fewer retail jobs in 2017 - and 75,000 more Amazon robots. In November, we explained that while everyone likes to point the finger at Amazon, America’s retail apocalypse can’t be tied to just one catalyst (see: A Look At America’s Retail Apocalypse In Charts), however, fierce competition in the industry has induced...

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FX Weekly Preview: FOMC and ECB Highlight Central Banks’ Last Meetings of the Year

2017-12-11

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2017-12-11

No fewer than thirteen central banks meet in the week ahead. The UK and the US report the latest inflation figures, and the US and eurozone report industrial production. The eurozone sees the flash PMI for December, and the Japan's latest Tankan business survey will be released.

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SNB: It’s A Bonfire Of The Absurdities

2017-11-21

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2017-11-21

Fire
This week’s letter will take a look at the growing number of ridiculous, inane, and otherwise nonsensical absurdities that fill the daily economic headlines. I have gone from the occasional smile to scratching my head now and then to “WTF” moments several times a week.

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The Savings Rate Conundrum

2017-11-08

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2017-11-08

Median Disposable Income and Debt Ratio, 1967 - 2015
The economy is booming. Employment is at decade lows. Unemployment claims are at the lowest levels in 40-years. The stock market is at record highs and climbing. Consumers are more confident than they have been in a decade. Wages are finally showing signs of growth.

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The Swiss National Bank Now Owns A Record $88 Billion In US Stocks

2017-11-04

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2017-11-04

Value of Swiss National Bank US Stock Holdings, Jun 2014 - Sep 2017
In the third quarter of 2017, one in which the global economy was supposedly undergoing an unprecedented "coordinated growth spurt", and in which central banks were preparing to unveil their QE tapering intentions, in the case of the ECB, or raising rates outright, at the Fed, what was really taking place was another central bank buying spree meant to boost confidence that things are now back to normal, using "money" freshly printed out of thin...

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The good years have started, increasing SNB Profits

2017-10-31

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2017-10-31

Income statement, 1 January–30 September 2017
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) reports a profit of CHF 33.7 billion for the first three quarters of 2017. But in 2017, the picture is changed. Assuming a "biblical" cycle of seven good years and seven bad years, the SNB could now increase profits every year - thanks to a weaker franc and the seven good years.

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Swiss industry has learned to live with strong franc

2017-10-28

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2017-10-28

The recent appreciation of the Swiss franc has sent shockwaves through Swiss firms, resulting in job losses and lower research budgets. But viewed long-term, Switzerland’s export-driven economy has adapted remarkably well to a strong currency.

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