The Swiss popular initiative ‘For a ban on financing war material manufacturers’ (Initiative against war trade) was put to a national vote on 29 November 2020. The SNB opposed the initiative. Find out about the SNB’s position and its rationale here.

The Swiss popular initiative ‘For crisis-resistant money: end fractional-reserve banking’ (Vollgeld-Initiative) was put to a national vote on 10 June 2018. The initiative called for the introduction of a sovereign money system in Switzerland. Both the Federal Council and the Swiss parliament opposed the initiative, as did the SNB. Find out about the SNB’s position and its rationale here.

The popular initiative ‘Save our Swiss gold’ (gold initiative), which was put to the vote on 30 November 2014, demanded that the share of gold in the SNB’s assets be increased to at least 20%. Gold was not to be sold and was to be physically stored in Switzerland only. Both the Federal Council and the Swiss parliament rejected the initiative, as did the SNB. Below you will find information outlining the reasons for the SNB’s position.

The people’s initiative ‘National Bank profits for the Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance Fund (AHV/AVS)’, better known as the Cosa initiative, which was put to the vote on 24 September 2006, demanded that the National Bank’s future profits be allocated to the AHV/AVS. Both the Federal Council and the Swiss parliament rejected the initiative, as did the Swiss National Bank.

For information regarding SNB-specific aspects of the initiative and the SNB’s reasons for rejecting it, please consult the factsheets (available in German and French only).