U toku je govor potpredsednika SNB-a, Thomasa Jordana, a ovo će da pročita:
The Swiss National Bank's floor of 1.20 Swiss francs per euro has helped reverse some book losses incurred during earlier interventions, but its balance sheet remains vulnerable to currency valuation changes, said Thomas Jordan, vice chairman of the SNB.
"Unfortunately, the risks haven't disappeared, and losses could still occur on other currencies, or on gold, with the amounts building up rapidly, owing to the size of our balance sheet," Jordan said in a speech prepared for delivery to a Swiss business club.
Jordan's speech focussed exclusively on the differences between commercial bank and central bank equity capital requirements, and there was no reference made to the SNB's currency monetary policy, or the state of the Swiss economy.
The SNB reported hefty book losses for 2010 and the first half of this year due to the decline in value of the euros and dollars accumulated during its attempt to curb the franc's gains between March 2009 and June last year.
These changes in valuation resulted in the SNB book losses, however Jordan stressed a central bank can never become illiquid, and its capacity to conduct policy isn't constrained if its equity turns negative temporarily.
In addition, the SNB can generate francs "out of thin air" or "print money" and thanks to this "banknote-issuing privilege" can never run out of liquidity, Jordan said.
"Even if the exchange rate losses are substantial, the SNB's long-term structural profit potential will hardly be affected, and it can still achieve a structural surplus over the long term," Jordan said.
One consequence of the SNB's CHF10.8 billion ($12.1 billion) loss in the first half, and CHF19 billion loss in 2010, is that it may not be able to pass on any profits to the Swiss treasury and cantons.
"However without the SNB's decisive policy over recent years, Switzerland might possibly have endured considerably greater economic damage, and it is important to recognize the SNB's earnings performance can never be regarded as the yardstick by which its monetary policy is measured," he said.
"The SNB doesn't have a mandate to make profits, but it is vital that it rebuilds its equity as soon as possible after losses, and that it maintains a strong balance sheet in the long term."
