Swiss central bank spends $199 billion in 2012 on foreign currencies

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) spent nearly a third of the country's gross domestic product, 188 billion francs ($199 billion), in 2012 in order to enforce the currency cap to protect the economy, the bank showed in its Accountability Report on Thursday. The Swiss central bank's decision to maintain the floor of 1.20 francs per euro has helped the country to avoid a downturn in 2011.