SNB suffers record H1 loss of 50.1b francs

Zurich

THE Swiss National Bank (SNB) suffered a loss for the first half of the year, giving politicians keen to raise their profile in an election year more fodder for criticism.

The SNB had a loss of 50.1 billion francs (S$72 billion) in the six months through the end of June, the central bank said on Friday. That's a record, according to SNB spokesman Walter Meier.

While the SNB, led by president Thomas Jordan, isn't required to generate a profit for monetary policy purposes, it needs adequate income in order to make its customary annual payout to the federal and cantonal governments. With the municipalities betting on SNB money in a year of weakening economic growth, the pr…