Thomas Jordan, Martin Schlegel, Antoine Martin: Introductory remarks by the Governing Board, Swiss National Bank news conference

Introductory remarks by Mr Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the SNB, Mr Martin Schlegel, Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the SNB, and Mr Antoine Martin, Member of the Governing Board of the SNB, at the Media News Conference of the Swiss National Bank, Zurich, 26 September 2024.

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

Ladies and gentlemen

As Chairman of the Governing Board, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the news conference of the Swiss National Bank. I would also like to welcome all those who are joining us today online. After our introductory remarks, we will take questions from journalists as usual. Questions can also be asked by telephone.

Monetary policy decision

I will begin with our monetary policy decision. We have decided to lower the SNB policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.0%. The change applies from tomorrow, 27 September 2024. Banks' sight deposits held at the SNB will be remunerated at the SNB policy rate up to a certain threshold, and at 0.5% above this threshold. We also remain willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary.

Inflationary pressure in Switzerland has again decreased significantly compared to the previous quarter. Among other things, this decrease reflects the appreciation of the Swiss franc over the last three months. With today's easing of monetary policy, we are taking the reduction in inflationary pressure into account. Further cuts in the SNB policy rate may become necessary in the coming quarters to ensure price stability over the medium term.