SNB Gets Pummeled by Markets as Its U.S. Stock Holdings Lose 13%

(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss National Bank’s portfolio of U.S. equities lost 13 percent of its value at the end of last year when the poor performance of global markets took its toll.

The SNB, whose investments mirror indexes, held stock in 2,536 U.S. companies worth a total of almost $78 billion, its regulatory filing to the Securities an Exchange Commission shows.

A spokesman for the central bank declined to comment.

Global share markets slumped in the final quarter of 2018, with the S&P 500 index suffering its worst performance in seven years. That was driven by investor disquiet about the trade dispute, political rancor in the U.S. and Europe, and concerns the Federal Reserve’s tightening policy would throttle economic growth.

The SNB’s filing to the SEC is the only information available on how its stakes in individual companies are evolving. The SNB held 19 percent of its foreign exchange reserves in equities at the end of last year.

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