Swiss Trade Unions Want SNB Earnings for Public Pension Fund

(Bloomberg) -- Switzerland should tap some of the huge earnings by the country’s central bank to boost public pensions, according to the country’s trade unions.

Switzerland’s Federation of Trade Unions published a 10-point plan on Thursday to counteract the effects of stagnant real wages. One suggestion was that some Swiss National Bank money money be given to the public pension fund.

The SNB earns billions of francs from sources such as negative interest rates, as well as coupon payments and stock dividends from its equity holdings. The central bank, legally organized as a joint-stock company, already pays out a fixed amount every year to the federal government.

SNB President Thomas Jordan spoke out against such a plan last month, saying that “any linking of monetary policy to social policy raises the issue of potential conflicts of interest.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Bosley in Zurich at cbosley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net

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