The National Bank Act (NBA) of 3 October 2003 (in force since 1 May 2004) serves as the statutory basis for the National Bank and its activity. The National Bank Act sets out in detail the SNB's constitutional mandate and its independence. The corollary to this independence is the SNB's accountability and information obligation towards the Federal Council, Parliament and the public (arts. 5–7 NBA). Furthermore, the NBA implements the SNB's constitutional mandate of setting aside sufficient monetary reserves from its earnings. Explicit rules concerning the calculation of profits allow the SNB to set aside provisions in line with the development of the Swiss economy (art. 30 NBA).
Moreover, the NBA sets out the instruments that the SNB has at its disposal to implement its monetary policy. The instruments based on market transactions are only broadly outlined in the provisions regarding the SNB's scope of business (art. 9–13 NBA); further details are contained in the Guidelines on Monetary Policy Instruments (PDF [120 kB])and the Investment Policy Guidelines (PDF [92 kB]). The sovereign instruments include the compilation of financial market statistics (arts. 14–16 NBA), the obligation of the banks to hold minimum reserves (arts. 17–18 NBA) and the oversight of payment and securities settlement systems (arts. 19–21 NBA). Individual provisions on the sovereign instruments are contained in the National Bank Ordinance.
The National Bank Act also governs the SNB's organisational structure (arts. 3, 33–48 NBA). The corporate bodies of the SNB are the eleven-member Bank Council, the Governing Board, the Audit Board and the General Meeting of Shareholders.
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Federal Act on the Swiss National Bank (National Bank Act)
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Message concerning the revision of the National Bank Act
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