Pandemic to push Swiss federal finances into red

The Swiss federal government expects a financing deficit of 20.9 billion Swiss francs ($22.87 billion) and an ordinary budget deficit of 3.1 billion francs this year as the coronavirus pandemic hits revenue, it said on Wednesday. "According to initial estimates, the extraordinary budget measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic amount to 17.8 billion francs," it said.

Switzerland ran a federal budget surplus of 3.6 billion francs in 2019 but, like other countries around the world, it was forced to shutter much of the economy for weeks to stem the spread of the disease. ($1 = 0.9140 Swiss francs)