Switzerland posted a current account surplus of 24 billion francs in the second quarter of 2026, according to figures published on 22 September by the Swiss National Bank (SNB). That is 13 billion more than in the same quarter of 2025. The increase looks clear-cut, but the SNB itself takes care to qualify it: the surplus in the second quarter of 2025 was relatively low. Part of the rise is therefore due to the weakness of the basis for comparison.
A rise driven by goods trade
According to the SNB, the increase in the current account balance is mainly explained by goods trade. Two factors stand out:
- the balance of merchanting rose significantly compared with the second quarter of 2025;
- the balance of trade in non-monetary gold remained negative, but to a lesser extent than a year earlier.
The other components changed little. The balances of trade in services, primary income and secondary income varied only marginally compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Most of the 13 billion difference is therefore concentrated in goods.
The press release does not quantify the contributions of merchanting and of gold separately. It is therefore not possible, at this stage, to say which of the two carries more weight in the increase.
Two readings of the same figure
A first reading sticks to the facts: at 24 billion, Switzerland remains in a position of marked current account surplus, and this balance has risen sharply year on year.
A second reading calls for caution. By comparing the second quarter of 2026 with a second quarter of 2025 that the SNB itself describes as weak, the base effect mechanically inflates the annual change. Moreover, the increase rests mainly on merchanting and gold, two items whose development says little, on its own, about the activity of the export industry in the usual sense.
It should also be noted that the data have been revised, in some cases back to 2023, on the basis of new information. Comparisons with previously published figures should therefore be made using the updated series.
Financial account: disengagement on both sides
On the financial account side, second-quarter transactions showed a net reduction in financial assets of 6 billion francs and in liabilities of 12 billion. Including derivatives, the financial account balance stood at 7 billion.
On the assets side, the decline mainly affected portfolio investment: resident investors sold securities of foreign issuers, in particular shares. Other investment also fell, notably because commercial banks reduced their claims on customers abroad. In direct investment, foreign-controlled companies based in Switzerland withdrew substantial equity capital from their subsidiaries abroad as part of balance sheet reductions. This withdrawal was, however, almost offset by reinvested earnings and by new intragroup loans granted to sister companies abroad.
On the liabilities side, the net reduction is mainly explained by foreign parent companies withdrawing equity capital from their subsidiaries in Switzerland, a movement linked to the same balance sheet reductions.
An international investment position inflated by stock markets
Switzerland's net international investment position rose by 22 billion francs compared with the previous quarter, reaching 986 billion. Assets increased by 149 billion to 5,564 billion, and liabilities by 127 billion to 4,578 billion. According to the SNB, these increases are largely explained by price gains on stock markets, both in Switzerland and abroad. These valuation effects mainly affected portfolio investment and reserve assets.
Here too, a qualification is in order: this can be read as a rise in the international investment position due in large part to price effects, an interpretation that the SNB does not itself put forward for the net position.
What effects for businesses and households?
The SNB press release does not comment on the consequences of these figures for the real economy. The following remarks are therefore possible readings, not findings.
For businesses, the concentration of the increase in merchanting and gold suggests that the jump in the surplus does not necessarily reflect a general improvement in foreign markets for all exporters. The capital withdrawals observed in direct investment, linked to balance sheet reductions by foreign-controlled groups, might also be worth monitoring over several quarters, as they concern entities established in Switzerland.
For households, the direct effect is limited. It can nevertheless be noted that the rise in the international investment position, driven by stock market gains, also concerns assets held indirectly, for example through savings invested in securities. But these valuation gains remain, by their nature, reversible.
In summary, the second quarter of 2026 confirms a solid current account surplus, but the annual increase of 13 billion should be read in light of a weak 2025 base and a rise concentrated in a few items.
