SNB Equity Holdings Rise to Record 21% of Portfolio: Chart

The proportion of equities in the Swiss National Bank’s 743.9 billion-franc ($800 billion) foreign-currency portfolio rose to a record of 21 percent in the fourth quarter. While the SNB has been investing in stocks for more than a decade to diversify its holdings, low bond yields have pushed it to buy more equities. Switzerland’s central bank has a passive approach to its equity holdings and manages its reserves to serve the objectives of monetary policy, using the criteria of security, liquidity and return.