The Swiss National Bank is set to recommence the distribution of dividends for the year 2024, buoyed by a remarkable turnaround in profitability attributed to strong foreign currency positions following two consecutive years of losses. According to a press release on Monday, the bank reported considerable gains in its foreign currency operations. In the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, the profit generated from foreign currency positions soared to an impressive 67.34 billion francs, a significant increase from just 4.01 billion francs the previous year.
This surge can be partly attributed to the impressive rise in gold prices, which climbed 36.7% toward the end of 2024. Consequently, the Swiss National Bank also achieved a valuation gain of 21.23 billion francs on its gold holdings, marking a substantial increase compared to the mere 1.72 billion francs recorded in 2023. In addition, there was an improvement in the losses linked to Swiss franc positions, which decreased to 7.42 billion francs, down from 8.51 billion francs in the prior year.
This positive shift primarily stemmed from the remuneration of sight deposit account balances totaling 5.9 billion francs. The consolidated gross income for the lender reached 81.16 billion francs, recovering from a loss of 2.77 billion francs in 2023. After accounting for increased provisions for currency and distribution reserves compared to the previous year, the Swiss National Bank reported a net profit of 15.94 billion francs for 2024.
This marks a significant recovery from the loss of 53.21 billion francs reported earlier. Furthermore, the central bank's total assets rose impressively to 854.08 billion francs, up from 794.64 billion francs in the preceding year. With these robust earnings, the bank is poised to distribute a dividend of 15 francs per share for 2024, breaking a two-year suspension on dividends.
This dividend corresponds to the maximum legally stipulated amount previously distributed for the fiscal year 2021. Additionally, the Swiss National Bank will reinstate its profit distribution to the federal government and cantons, resulting in a payment of 3 billion francs..