Swiss central bank posts US$34.28b loss for 9 months

[ZURICH] Switzerland's central bank posted a loss of 33.9 billion Swiss francs (US$34.28 billion) on Friday, as a third-quarter profit helped reduce its record first-half loss.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) stunned financial markets in January by abandoning its cap on the value of the franc versus the euro, but has had to intervene in foreign exchange markets in the following months in a bid to weaken the franc.

Results showed this has come at a considerable cost to the central bank, which posted a loss of 50.1 billion francs for the first half of 2015 and has warned its shareholders, including the federal government and cantons, that it may mot be able to maintain its regular payout policy.

REUTERS