Zurich, Switzerland– Switzerland’s central bank reported on Monday an annual loss of 3.2 billion Swiss francs ($3.6 billion) for 2023, as its own interest-rate hikes hit its bottom line.
The loss means the country’s government and cantons will not receive their annual pay-out from the Swiss National Bank for a second year in a row.
The SNB had forecast in January that the loss would reach around three billion francs after falling 132.5 billion francs into the red in 2022.
The central bank has raised its interest rates out of negative territory in an effort to tame inflation.
This meant that the SNB had to pay interest to banks parking their money at the central bank.
Previously, it was the banks that had to pay interest on the money they had to deposit at the SNB as the rates were in negative territory.
The SNB said it recorded a loss of 8.5 billion francs on national currency positions last year, following a loss of one billion francs in 2022.
It made a profit of four billion francs on foreign currency positions following a loss of 131.5 billion francs in the previous year.
Its gold holdings recorded a valuation gain of 1.7 billion francs, as prices for the metal rose 3.1 percent.
The bank paused its rate-hike campaign in September last year.
Official data showed on Monday that inflation slowed to 1.2 percent in February, fueling speculation that the SNB may start to cut interest rates at its next policy meeting on March 21.