Central banks shift into shares as low rates hit revenues

From the the Financial Times (gated, but can be read with a free registration) : Central banks shift into shares as low rates hit revenues

• “A cluster of central banking investors has become major players on world equity markets,” says a report to be published this week by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (Omfif), a central bank research and advisory group. The trend “could potentially contribute to overheated asset prices”, it warns.
• The report, seen by the Financial Times, identifies $29.1tn in market investments, including gold, held by 400 public sector institutions in 162 countries.
• China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange has become “the world’s largest public sector holder of equities”, according to officials quoted by Omfif. SAFE manages $3.9tn & is part of the People’s Bank of China. “In a new development, it appears that PBoC itself has been directly buying minority equity stakes in important European companies,” Omfif adds.
• Swiss National Bank has an equity quota of about 15 per cent
• The Danish central bank’s equity portfolio was worth about $500m at the end of last year.

More at the link.