The Swiss National Bank (SNB) released provisional figures on foreign currency reserves last Friday. The data shows that the foreign exchange reserves held by the SNB have steadily increased in recent years.

Foreign currency stocks jumped by around 52 billion and stood at 944 billion francs at the end of December 2021, according to figures from the issuing institute. This amount exceeds the Swiss gross domestic product (GDP) by 30%. Foreign exchange market interventions were less significant in 2021 than in the previous year. Over the first three quarters, the SNB bought foreign currencies for 8.5 billion francs.

The foreign exchange reserves of the Swiss central bank are mainly held in bonds and equities. At the end of September 2021, these were 66% government bonds, 11% other debt securities and 23% equities. As for currencies, these are 38% dollars and euros respectively, followed by the Japanese yen (8%), the British pound (6%), the Canadian dollar (3%) and other foreign currencies (7%).