Swiss National Bank Mulling Possible Sale of Russian Securities
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The Swiss National Bank is looking into whether it needs to divest its security holdings connected to Russia.
“The SNB is currently examining in compliance with the sanctions whether these securities will be held or sold,” a central bank spokesman said in a written response to questions.
The value of the holdings amount to less than 0.05% of its currency reserves, the spokesman said. That equates to less than 474 million Swiss francs ($518 million), according to Bloomberg calculations. Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported the holdings earlier.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that followed have left institutions and companies rushing to determine how to deal with their holdings. Norway has asked the central bank to come up with a plan to remove Russian assets from its sovereign wealth fund, while oil giant BP Plc and Shell Plc have decided to quit Russia.
This week, the Swiss government broke with a long-entrenched tradition of neutrality and agreed to enforce European Union sanctions against Russian companies and individuals including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Read more: Swiss Ditch Historic Neutrality to Enforce Russia Sanctions
It's a bold departure for Switzerland, which has long played a neutral role in international affairs. It hosted a summit in June between Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden and then talks between Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Swiss banks had about $23 billion in Russian holdings in the third quarter of last year, mostly made up of deposits, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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