[White Collar IndusSwitzerland: Shares in national central bank rise by 60%
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[Headlines] THURSDAY APRIL 3 1997
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[Contents] By Norma Cohen and Michael Morgan
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[Search] Shares in Switzerland's central bank jumped by more than
[-] 60 per cent yesterday, apparently in response to the
bank's plan to revalue its substantial gold holdings and
[FTid] donate a large portion to a national humanitarian fund.
Swiss National Bank shares peaked at SFr1,338 ($922.70),
before closing at SFr1,100, up SFr275. Volume reached
2,894 shares, more than 10 times recent daily average
and more than a third of the total traded in the whole
of last year. The shares normally trade at between
SFr550 and SFr620.
The SNB is unusual among central banks in that its
shares are quoted. Some 63 per cent are owned by Swiss
cantonal governments, the cantonal banks and other
public bodies. Roughly 0.45 per cent are foreign-owned
and carry no voting rights.
The remainder are owned by 3,164 private shareholders,
the vast majority of whom own 10 shares or less.
Analysts said the sudden demand for SNB shares may have
been sparked by the plan announced last month to revalue
the bank's gold reserves. SNB holds 2,590 tonnes of gold
which is on its books at a value fixed by law of
SFr4,595 per kilogram, less than a third of its present
value.
The Swiss government decided last month to set up a
SFr7bn humanitarian fund to help defuse the row over
Switzerland's wartime role in helping finance Nazi
Germany. The row has damaged the country's reputation
and sparked fears of harm to the international
operations of the Swiss banks. The fund, called the
Foundation for Solidarity, would be financed by part of
the proceeds of the SNB gold revaluation.
Analysts said investors might have believed that
shareholders would benefit from the revaluation. "People
could misunderstand the benefits for shareholders," said
Mr Hans Kaufmann, head of Swiss research at Bank Julius
Baer in Zurich. By law, dividends are fixed regardless
of the SNB's profitability.
Some analysts suggested that demand may be coming from
critics of the fund - there is widespread opposition to
it within Switzerland and domestic SNB shareholders
would have the opportunity to vote against it.
* Europe's largest insurer, Allianz Holding AG, said
it would honour policies held by Holocaust
survivors and their heirs if they can prove their
claims (AP reports from Munich). On Monday, a $7bn
class-action lawsuit was filed in New York accusing
seven of Europe's largest insurers - including
Allianz - of failing to pay out billions of dollars
to survivors after the Second World War.
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