Schweizerische Nationalbank

Schweizerische Nationalbank is Switzerland's central bank, operating as a special-statute joint-stock company established in 1907 with headquarters in Bern and Zurich. Its primary mandate is to ensure price stability while considering economic developments, conducting monetary policy independently under the National Bank Act. The bank issues Swiss franc banknotes, manages gold and foreign exchange reserves, and facilitates cashless transactions through systems like Swiss Interbank Clearing. It serves as the banker to the Swiss Confederation, handling account management, payment transactions, liquidity, securities custody, and issuance of Confederation bonds. Schweizerische Nationalbank engages in money market operations, asset management, economic analysis, international monetary cooperation, statistics, and risk management. With a share capital of CHF 25 million divided into 100,000 registered shares, over half are held by cantons, cantonal banks, and public entities, while the rest are privately owned and traded publicly. Its net profits, after a legally limited dividend, benefit the public sector, including the Confederation and cantons, underscoring its unique public-private structure in global central banking.