Economics
SNB Faces Cliffhanger Vote on $21 Billion in Stock Investments
- Poll on defense stocks trending to ‘no,’ but still at 50%
- If vote passes, SNB would have to sell 11% of equity portfolio
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The Swiss National Bank faces a cliffhanger national vote on its equity investments that could force it to sell defense company stocks worth about 19 billion francs ($21 billion).
Support for a proposal that would forbid the central bank from investing in companies that get more than 5% of their revenue from arms sales has declined in recent weeks and is heading toward rejection, according to a poll by gfs.bern. But the initiative still has 50% backing ahead of the Nov. 29 ballot.