SNB's Profit Surprisingly Driven by Stocks, Not Gold

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) released its Q2 profit report, revealing an impressive $25.7 billion gain. But what's surprising is that this profit didn't come from gold reserves as one might expect.

Instead, the SNB made a whopping $39.9 billion on its foreign-currency positions, which include large holdings of foreign shares, dividends, and interest. This is significant because these assets are 'marked to market,' meaning their value is updated based on current prices.

The result swung from a loss a year earlier due to the rally in global markets between April and June. The SNB's profit can jump around with global equity moves and exchange rates, rather than just Swiss economic news.