Thomas Jordan: Swiss monetary policy decision and the assessment of the economic situation

Introductory remarks by Mr Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Media News Conference of the Swiss National Bank, Berne, 14 December 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Ladies and gentlemen

It is a pleasure for me to welcome you to the Swiss National Bank's news conference. I will begin by explaining our monetary policy decision and our assessment of the economic situation. I will then hand over to Fritz Zurbrügg, who will speak about current developments in the area of financial stability. After that, Andréa Maechler will review the situation on the financial markets and the progress in reference interest rate reform. Finally, we will - as ever - be pleased to take your questions.

Monetary policy decision

Let me begin with our monetary policy decision and the inflation forecast.

We are maintaining our expansionary monetary policy in order to stabilise price developments and support economic activity. Interest on sight deposits at the SNB is to remain at -0.75% and the target range for the three-month Libor is unchanged at between -1.25% and -0.25%. We will remain active in the foreign exchange market as necessary, while taking the overall currency situation into consideration.

The Swiss franc has depreciated in recent months. The overvaluation has thereby decreased, yet overall the franc remains highly valued. The depreciation of the franc reflects the fact that safe havens are currently less sought after. However, this development is still fragile.