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☆ SNB to launch digital currency pilot - chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, June 26 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is to issue a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) on Switzerland's SIX digital exchange as part of a pilot, the central bank's chairman said at a conference in Zurich on Monday. As opposed to wholesale CBDCs which use tokenised securities, the SNB has long been cautious about the use of public, or retail, CBDCs. Jordan said he was concerned about potential risks retail CBDCs could have for the financial system, while the use of them was more difficult to control. "We do not exclude that we will never introduce retail [CBDCs] but nevertheless we are a little bit prudent at the moment," he said. "It is the one way that retail households can hold central bank money," she said.

Persons: Thomas Jordan, Jordan, Andrea Maechler, Noele Illien, John Revill, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Switzerland's SIX, Zero, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Zurich, Central, CBDCs, Switzerland

☆ 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.

☆ SNB's Maechler: Rates will be raised if inflation forecast above target
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Paul Carrel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank will raise interest rates further if it sees inflation projections above its target level, SNB governing board member Andrea Maechler said on Thursday. The SNB appears to be preparing for further interest rate hikes after already raising rates twice this year to 0.5%. Although Swiss inflation eased to 3.0% in October, from 3.3% in September, it remains high by Swiss standards. "We're willing - if the exchange rate were to rise too rapidly, too high - to use intervention to buy foreign exchange," she said. "We're also willing, if the exchange rate were to become too weak, to sell exchange rate but we're not yet ready to reduce our balance sheet as a policy in itself.

☆ SNB's Maechler says more rate hikes could be necessary - paper
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The battle against inflation has not been won despite a dip in Swiss inflation to 3.0% in October from 3.3% in September, Maechler told Swiss business newspaper L'Agefi. The central bank has already hiked rates twice this year and now has a policy interest rate of 0.5%. "But it is not out of the question that, based on new figures and developments, further rate hikes may be necessary to ensure price stability in the medium term," Maechler told the newspaper when asked about the SNB's options in December. "On the one hand, a single figure will never allow us to claim victory, and on the other hand, it is still 3%, far from the range that we associate with price stability," Maechler said. Although Swiss inflation remained low compared to the 7.7% rate in the United States and 10.7% rate in the eurozone, it is still "too high", Maechler said.

☆ Swiss National Bank still sees no case for central bank digital currency
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ZURICH, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank currently sees "no compelling advantage" to introducing digital central bank money for the general population, governing board member Andrea Maechler said on Thursday. "We have taken quite a strong position," Maechler told a Swiss Finance Institute event in Zurich, saying such a move could lead to the public holding accounts with the central bank as well as with commercial banks. If customers became "worried or mad with a particular bank, you could transfer the money overnight to the SNB," Maechler said. "This would add a lot of risk and volatility to the system which is ultimately not needed." Reporting by John Revill, editing by Noele IllienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swiss National Bank cuts overnight deposits by 30 billion francs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The building of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is pictured in Bern, Switzerland June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannZURICH, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The amount of commercial bank cash held overnight with the Swiss National Bank fell by 30 billion Swiss francs ($30.07 billion) last week, data on Monday showed, illustrating how the central bank is tightening monetary policy by reducing market liquidity. Total sight deposits, which include other deposits on sight in Swiss francs, declined to 639.332 billion francs from 669.585 billion francs in the previous week. The SNB raised its policy rate to 0.5% last month as it sought to battle inflation in Switzerland. "At 0,445% the SARON today is not that far away from the official policy rate such that further interventions through bills or repos don't seem that urgent," he said.

☆ Swiss National Bank's Maechler determined to bring down inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ZURICH, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank will do "everything" to reduce inflation, governing board member Andrea Maechler said on Monday, saying last week's rate hike was intended to signal the central bank's determination to fight price increases in Switzerland. "We have tightened monetary policy and raised interest rates to send a clear signal that we will do everything to bring down inflation over time," Maechler told broadcaster SRF in an interview to be shown later on Monday. The SNB responded last week by raising its policy rate by 75 basis points to 0.5%. read moreMaechler declined to comment on further rate increases expected by economists in the coming months. The Swiss franc, whose appreciation previously the focus of SNB policy, had risen in value in recent months and helped dampen Swiss inflation, Maechler added.

☆ SNB to use SNB bills and repo transactions to absorb liquidity - Maechler
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) logo is pictured on its building in Bern, Switzerland June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannZURICH, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank is going to use SNB bills and repo transactions to absorb liquidity in order to ensure short-term money market rates remain close to the now positive policy rate, governing board member Andrea Maechler said on Thursday. "We are adjusting our implementation approach," said Maechler in comments prepared for a speech she was due to give after the SNB announced a rate hike, adding the new approach consisted in absorbing liquidity via open market operations and a tiered remuneration of sight deposits banks hold at the SNB. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Michael ShieldsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The building of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is pictured in Bern, Switzerland June 16, 2022. The increase to 0.5%, from minus 0.25%, followed a 50 basis point hike in June from minus 0.75%, the SNB's first rate hike in 15 years. The SNB originally imposed negative rates in December 2014 and lowered them again in January 2015 to minus 0.75%. Negative rates were unpopular among Swiss banks, who saw them as a charge on their activities and also reduced lending margins. The Swiss Bankers Association said negative rates meant the country's lenders had borne the brunt of the fight against the appreciating franc.

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