It seems the Swiss held gold as 30% of their reserves in 2000 ... and now currently it is about 7%. One would imagine that there is a strong 'sentimental' element to the prospect for a return to a higher percentage holding.
This Reuters article from a couple of days ago is quite enlightening:-
"A "Yes" vote would not prevent the SNB from expanding its balance sheet. It could still print Swiss francs to stop the currency from rising, but that would entail considerable cost as it would need to buy more gold to meet the new requirements."
