Thomas Jordan, Martin Schlegel, Thomas Moser: 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 Thomas Moser, Alternate Member of the Governing Board of the SNB, at the Media News Conference of the Swiss National Bank, Zurich, 21 September 2023.

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. In addition to the members of the Governing Board, Thomas Moser is participating in today's news conference. He is currently heading Department III on an ad interim basis. 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 leave the SNB policy rate unchanged at 1.75%. The significant tightening of our monetary policy over recent quarters is countering remaining inflationary pressure. From today's perspective, it cannot be ruled out that a further tightening of monetary policy may become necessary to ensure price stability over the medium term. We will therefore monitor the development of inflation closely in the coming months. To provide appropriate monetary conditions, we are also willing to be active in the foreign exchange market as necessary. In the current environment, the focus is on selling foreign currency.

Banks' sight deposits held at the SNB will continue to be remunerated at the SNB policy rate of 1.75% up to a certain threshold. Sight deposits above this threshold will be remunerated at an interest rate of 1.25%, and thus still at a discount of 0.5 percentage points relative to the SNB policy rate.