SNB caps annual payout to federal government and cantons at six billion

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will pay the federal government and the cantons a maximum of six billion francs a year, provided its financial situation allows it, for the 2026-2030 financial years. This is set out in the new agreement on profit distribution, signed on Thursday evening by the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) and the central bank.

The figure is therefore not an automatic payment. A base amount of two billion is distributed only if the SNB's balance-sheet profit reaches at least that level. Up to four additional instalments of one billion each can be added, released when profit reaches 10, 20, 30 and 40 billion francs respectively. The amount actually paid out can thus range from zero to six billion, depending on the institution's results.

Lower mandatory reserves, more room for payouts

The law requires the SNB to set aside part of its annual result in order to keep monetary reserves at the required level. Since the institution's capital base has improved in recent years, from 2026 the SNB will lower the minimum allocation to reserves from 10% to 8%, subject to annual approval by the Bank Council. A lower minimum allocation leaves, for the same profit, more room for distribution.

The profit remaining after these allocations is in principle available for distribution to the federal government and the cantons. The FDF and the SNB set the reference values for the distribution in a multi-year agreement, with the aim of ensuring a steady distribution over the medium term, rather than amounts that fluctuate from year to year with the central bank's results.

For public budgets, the mechanism nonetheless remains tied to the performance of the markets in which the SNB invests its reserves: no threshold guarantees a certain inflow. The question remains open as to how the federal government and the cantons will use any inflow of this size: to reduce debt and the tax burden, or to fund new ongoing spending that would also have to be sustained in years when the central bank's profit fails to reach the thresholds foreseen.