Swiss CB Sees CHF 9 Bln Loss For 2013 On Gold Price Fall

(RTTNews) - The Swiss National Bank on Monday estimated that it is set to post a CHF 9 billion loss for the fiscal year 2013, hurt by a steep fall in the value of its gold holdings.

Consequently, the central bank said it will not be able to pay dividends to shareholders, the government and the cantons.

The value of the Swiss central bank's gold holdings shrunk by around CHF 15 billion. The price of the precious metal dropped nearly 28 percent last year.

The loss contrasted with a gain of around CHF 3 billion on foreign currency positions and profits of over CHF 3 billion from the sale of the stabilisation fund, which was established in 2008 to rescue UBS, a main Swiss investment bank.

Further, the bank said it is set to face a CHF 12 billion shortfall after setting aside CHF 3 billion to the provisions for currency reserves.

"As this loss will be substantially larger than the CHF 5.3 billion in the distribution reserve, the SNB cannot make a profit distribution, " the bank said in a statement.

In 2012, the bank logged a profit of EUR 6 billion, helped by strong foreign currency investment and rising gold prices.

The SNB will publish the detailed report with definitive figure on March 7 and the Annual Report on March 25.