Update 2 0:30 Update 1 20 August 0:08 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss government is selling 332.2 million shares in bank UBS, withdrawing “immediately and entirely” its stake in the bank. The announcement was made by Bern after details were published Wednesday 19 August of the Swiss-US out of court settlement in the UBS bank case.
(correction: price of gold) Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss National Bank has posted a positive half-year result of CHF5 billion before provisions, compared to a loss of CHF3.4b a year earlier. The SNB ended 2008 with a loss of CHF4.3b. The central bank’s legal obligations require it to set aside provisions that allow it to maintain currency reserves at a level necessary for monetary policy. For the first six months, CHF701.8 million will be allocated to provisions. The stabilization fund set up to bail out bank UBS had no impact on the results, the SNB points out.
