Czech National Bank Loss: Crown Strengthening Drives 73 Billion Deficit
- Two years ago, the CNB reported a record profit of 151 billion crowns, up from 55 billion crowns the previous year.
- However,last year it ended with a loss of 72.9 billion crowns.
- The koruna strengthened against the US dollar by almost 15 percent and against the euro by almost four percent last year.
Two years ago, the CNB reported a record profit of 151 billion crowns, up from 55 billion crowns the previous year.
However,last year it ended with a loss of 72.9 billion crowns. “Exchange rate movements during 2025 outweighed the significant appreciation of foreign exchange reserves, which was positively affected by the current bank board’s strategy of increasing the share of equities and gradually buying gold,” said CNB spokesman Jaroslav Krejčí.
The koruna strengthened against the US dollar by almost 15 percent and against the euro by almost four percent last year. Krejčí mentioned that if the koruna exchange rate had remained stable since the begining of the year, the CNB would have achieved a profit of approximately 150 billion crowns and the returns on reserves would have covered all costs of monetary policy and operations.
The strengthening of the koruna against the dollar by 14.8 percent meant a decrease in the value of CNB assets by 223.6 billion crowns last year. This year, the koruna is expected to continue to strengthen against major world currencies, although at a slower pace than last year.
The CNB’s foreign exchange reserves in reserve currencies appreciated by 10.3 percent in 2025.
Czech National Bank Maintains Interest Rates, Costs of Monetary Policy Decrease
The Czech National Bank (ČNB) has decided to keep interest rates unchanged. According to a spokesperson, the costs associated with monetary policy for the bank decreased significantly in 2023.
Monetary Policy Costs & Interest Rates
Costs related to interest paid to banks on their deposits held at the ČNB remained a significant expense for the bank, despite the unchanged interest rates. These costs totaled CZK 100.3 billion in 2023, a considerable reduction from CZK 187 billion in the previous year, as stated by the ČNB spokesperson. Czech National Bank.
Inflation & Price Stability
The primary objective of the central bank is to maintain price stability. Consumer prices in the Czech Republic rose by 2.1% year-on-year in december 2023, remaining unchanged compared to November. Czech Statistical Office.
Latest Verified Status (as of 2026/01/09 17:07:30): Information regarding the ČNB’s interest rate decision and inflation figures for December 2023 remains consistent with the reporting from January 2024.No breaking news or significant updates have emerged as of the current date.Further data on monetary policy costs and inflation will be released by the ČNB and the czech Statistical Office in subsequent reports.