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☆ Banks should slow deposit withdrawals, prepare better collateral to evade crises - SNB
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Liquidity assistance alone would not have resolved thecrisis," he said, adding that other measures like the eventual state-brokered takeover by rival Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S) were needed. This limited the level of cash that could be offered via the Emergency Liquidity Assistance scheme (ELA), the SNB's usual tool as lender of last resort. Additional money was provided for Credit Suisse via the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA+), which provided cash secured only by preferential rights if Credit Suisse went bankrupt rather than against collateral. In future, Schlegel said improved preparation of collateral was needed by banks to allow them to better access emergency funding through existing schemes. "ELA+ was necessary in the specific case of Credit Suisse, but it is not a model for managing future crises," Schlegel said.

Persons: Banks, Martin Schlegel, Schlegel, ELA, John Revill, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Credit, Credit Suisse, Reuters, Swiss National Bank, UBS, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Basel, Swiss

☆ SNB vice-chairman says further rate hikes may be needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The building of the Swiss National Bank is seen in Zurich, September 22, 2022. SNB last month held its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.75%, noting that inflation - at 1.6% in August and within the central bank's target range of 0-2% - had eased. The vast majority of economists polled by Reuters last month, however, said that the SNB was done with interest rate hikes. He also said that AT1 bonds, which were written off as part of UBS' (UBSG.S) takeover of Credit Suisse, should have been loss-making at an earlier stage. "Despite ongoing losses, Credit Suisse did not suspend interest payments on these instruments," Schlegel said.

Persons: Arnd, Martin Schlegel, SNB, Schlegel, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Swiss National Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Swiss, Credit Suisse, UBS, Thomson Locations: Zurich, Swiss, Switzerland

☆ Swiss National Bank to expand liquidity provision to banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank will provide funds secured against mortgages to all commercial banks, expanding liquidity provision to the sector, Vice Chairman Martin Schlegel said on Thursday. To take advantage of the support, which had previously only been available to systemically important banks, lenders must be able to transfer the mortgages to the central bank. The greater the number of banks that take the preparatory steps necessary to use the new possibility of obtaining liquidity, the greater will be the central bank's room for manoeuvre in time of need, Schlegel said. Earlier this month, Switzerland's central bank was criticised for being too restrictive in a report by a group of experts, including bankers and academics, formed in the wake of Credit Suisse's collapse. Schlegel said, by expanding the ways the country's banks can tap liquidity, the central bank was not lowering its standards.

Persons: Martin Schlegel, Schlegel, Noele, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Thomson Locations: ZURICH

☆ Swiss National Bank's Schlegel not deterred by recent inflation dip - newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Our mission is to guarantee price stability, that means inflation should be in the range of 0-2%," Schlegel told the newspaper. The market currently sees a 63% chance of a 25 basis point hike by the central bank at its next meeting in September. "This will make labour scarcer, which could mean higher wages and higher prices which would require higher interest rates," Schlegel said. Therefore less capital could be available which would put upward pressure on inflation-adjusted interest rates." The switch to renewable energies and the accompanying large investments this needed could also push up inflation and interest rates, he said.

Persons: Martin Schlegel, Schlegel, John Revill, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Schweiz, Thomson Locations: ZURICH

☆ UBS's size will be taken into account - SNB Vice-Chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ZURICH, June 22 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank will consider closely the size of UBS (UBSG.S) following the completion of its takeover of Credit Suisse, the central bank's vice-chairman said on Thursday. "Of course because it is such a big bank it needs to have higher capital requirements," Martin Schlegel told an news conference in Zurich. He also said the size and the importance of UBS, as well as its business model, will be taken into account from a financial stability perspective. Reporting by Noele Illien Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Martin Schlegel, Noele, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Swiss National Bank, UBS, Credit Suisse, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Zurich

☆ Powerful Swiss central bank faces reform calls in wake of Credit Suisse rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The Swiss National Bank (SNB) building is seen near the Limmat river in Zurich, Switzerland March 23, 2023. The governance concerns have been brought centre-stage by the search for a new member to replace Andrea Maechler, the first woman to serve on the SNB's governing board. The Swiss parliament would have to approve any expansion of the SNB's board. Still, the SNB Observatory, a group of economists set up to stimulate a debate about the SNB, has suggested that the small committee meant the central bank was susceptible to group think. Thomas Stucki, a former head of asset management at the SNB, said it was typical for central bank chairmen to dominate decision-making.

"If this solution hadn't worked, Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) would have failed, with extreme consequences for Switzerland but also the global economy," he told a press conference. The SNB Chairman said it was vital for UBS's takeover of the 167-year-old Credit Suisse to go through as smoothly as possible in order to maintain financial stability. [1/2] The Swiss National Bank (SNB) building is seen near the Limmat river in Zurich, Switzerland March 23, 2023. The Bank of England is expected to increase its interest rate by a quarter percentage point later on Thursday. "Without today's policy rate increase, the inflation forecast would be even higher over the medium term," the central bank said.

☆ Swiss National Bank still willing to be active on forex markets, vice chairman says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank is "still willing" to be active on the foreign currency markets in pursuing its goal of price stability, Vice Chairman Martin Schlegel said on Monday. "If the Swiss franc depreciates we are ready to sell foreign exchange, if the Swiss franc appreciates strongly we are willing to buy foreign exchange," Schlegel told an event in Warsaw. The SNB had to react and "react forcefully" to tackle Swiss inflation, which peaked at 3.5% last year, Schlegel said. Although this level was quite low by international comparisons, it was still above the 0-2% range that the SNB defines as price stability, he said. "The most important contribution we can do for society is to have stability-orientated policy and maintain price stability."

☆ Swiss National Bank loses nearly $143 billion in first nine months
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Gold holdings lost 1.1 billion francs in value. "The problem is the stagflationary environment where equities lose, bonds lose, gold loses and the Swiss franc becomes stronger. The loss could, however, mean that the central bank halts payouts to the Swiss federal and cantonal governments next year. Continued massive losses could wipe out the SNB's equity, which stood at 204 billion francs at the end of 2021. It helps the credibility of a central bank if it is well capitalized."

☆ Credit Suisse overhaul welcomed by Swiss National Bank - paper
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank endorses the measures Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) has taken to transform the embattled Swiss bank and shore up its capital, SNB Vice Chairman Martin Schlegel said. "The SNB welcomes the steps recently announced for the strategic transformation of Credit Suisse," Schlegel told Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft in an interview published online on Friday. At the same time, Credit Suisse is strengthening its capital base," added Schlegel, who oversees financial stability for the central bank. Credit Suisse on Thursday unveiled plans to raise 4 billion Swiss francs ($4.01 billion) from investors, cut thousands of jobs and shift its focus from investment banking more towards rich clients. UBS economists, meanwhile, expect the SNB to post a third-quarter loss of around 50 billion Swiss francs when it reports its results on Monday.

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