Environmentalists Call Out Swiss National Bank Over Harmful Investments

Environmental activists staged a protest outside the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) Annual General Meeting in Bern on Friday, demanding that the central bank stop funding companies linked to environmental destruction.

The protest follows a recent study by University College London identifying corporations that contribute to irreversible damage in critical ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest and Brazil’s Cerrado region. Activists accused the SNB of investing in some of these firms and urged the bank to adopt tougher environmental standards in its investment decisions.

Although the SNB already excludes companies involved in coal mining and those with serious environmental violations, campaigners argue that the bank must do more. They called on the SNB to follow the example of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which actively divests from environmentally harmful companies and engages with firms to improve sustainability practices.

SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel responded by stating that the bank’s primary role is maintaining price stability, not addressing climate change. He emphasized that the SNB’s foreign investment decisions are guided solely by financial risk and return, not environmental or climate targets.

However, this stance has sparked criticism from Swiss lawmakers, some of whom signed an open letter condemning the bank’s exclusion of climate activists from its AGM. They argued that such actions undermine transparency and called for the SNB to align its investments with ethical and ecological standards.

With nearly a quarter of its CHF 756 billion in reserves invested in global equities, the SNB holds significant influence and now faces growing pressure to use it responsibly.