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SNB Posts $30 Billion First-Quarter Profit on Stock Rally
The Swiss National Bank recorded a profit of 30.7 billion francs ($30.1 billion) at the start of the year, reaping the rewards of the recent stock market rally. Shares comprise about a fifth of the central bank’s foreign currency portfolio. Strong gains in equities in the first quarter contributed 17.4 billion francs to the central bank’s quarterly result, which also got a boost from bond prices and gold. The SNB is a joint-stock company, with both public-sector and private shareholders, and its earnings are calculated by comparing asset prices at the start and end of each period. It’s therefore at risk of big ... (full story)