The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has reiterated its stance on environmental considerations, stating that it will not alter its investment strategies because of climate change. This decision continues its resistance to calls for a more proactive approach to addressing climate change.
The bank emphasized that it lacks the authority to engage in structural policies, as such actions could impede its ability to fulfil its primary mandate of controlling inflation.
These statements were made in the bank’s Sustainability Report, which, for the first time, disclosed its portfolio’s carbon footprint.Â
This disclosure follows the implementation of a new law mandating transparency on climate impact for large Swiss companies.
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While certain industries, such as arms manufacturing and banking, are excluded from the SNB’s portfolio, the bank’s environmental guidelines only prohibit investments in coal mining.
Consequently, its holdings may include companies involved in fracking and the oil and gas sectors.
However, the central bank emphasized on Tuesday that as the transition to address climate change affects companies and their financial instruments, it will naturally impact the broader portfolio of assets held by the SNB.
“Diversification means that the SNB’s equity and corporate bond portfolios’ exposure to risks is similar to that of the global universe of companies, and that structural changes, for example, the transition to a sustainable economy, are also reflected in the SNB’s portfolios,” it said in the report.