The National Bank employs economists, lawyers, banking specialists, IT experts, technical staff, cashiers and people from many other professions. There is no such thing as the typical educational profile for a National Bank employee.

The National Bank has no competitors in Switzerland. After all, with the sole right of issue it is the only institution authorised to produce banknotes and put them into circulation. However, internationally it competes, so to speak, with the central banks of other countries, as the quality of its monetary policy is compared with the monetary policy pursued in other countries.

The Swiss National Bank is owned by its shareholders. A majority of its shares are held by the cantons and the cantonal banks. Many private individuals are also National Bank shareholders. The Confederation, however, owns no National Bank shares. The number of voting rights that a private individual may exercise is limited. So the National Bank cannot simply be taken over by a private company.

The fact that the National Bank has a Head Office in Zurich and another in Berne has to do with its history. It was founded at a time when communications and transport were less developed than now, and so it was decided to set up one Head Office in Zurich, the financial centre of Switzerland, and another in Berne, the country's administrative capital.

Central banks are often given considerable independence in monetary policy decision-making. This is important if unpopular measures need to be taken, e.g. in order to combat inflation. However, central banks do not go unsupervised. The National Bank is required to report to the public on its activities. The Governing Board is also accountable to the Parliament.

We are used to the National Bank posting impressive profits. But this need not always be the case. For example, if foreign currencies depreciate against the Swiss franc, the National Bank may incur considerable losses on its foreign currency investments. Thus it might in some circumstances have to report a loss rather than a profit.

The National Bank has bank counters with regular opening hours. Among other services, information on banknotes is available there and badly worn notes can be exchanged for new ones. The National Bank does not, however, organise guided tours or visits for the public.

Our welcome page gives you access to a lot of additional information about the National Bank and its activities. Here you can also order publications for schools, your studies or work, or for private use.