The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has reported losses between April and June, halving the central bank’s early-year profits and making a payout to the government and cantons next year look less likely.

The SNB registered a half-year profit of CHF13.7 billion ($15.7 billion), according to a statement published this week, down from a CHF26.9 billion gain during the first quarter.

The country’s central bank has earned CHF16.2 billion from its large foreign-currency holdings as Franc’s appreciation impacted the global equity markets rally, Swiss Info reports.

In addition, the SNB registered a CHF 1.2 billion profit on its gold holdings.

However, although the Swiss National Bank recorded profits of CHF2.8 billion on bonds and CHF26.2 billion on equities, exchange rate losses of CHF19.6 billion weighed on the profit on foreign-currency positions.

Nevertheless, the figures surpassed forecasts by UBS economists Alessandro Bee and Florian Germanier, who expected a profit between CHF2 and 12 billion during the first half of the year.

The economists forecast the central bank would need to earn between CHF45 billion and CHF50 billion in 2023 in order to resume paying a dividend for next year, Bloomberg reports. A payout for 2023 is already unlikely, according to both economists.

In 2022, the central bank reported the worst loss in its history, at CHF132.5 billion, meaning the regular payment to shareholders, the government and cantons were missed for just the second time since the SNB was founded back in 1906.

The Swiss National Bank’s results are greatly influenced by market developments. As such, quarterly results are initially a snapshot.

The earnings from central bank operations don’t influence monetary policy. Q3 results will be published on 31st October.