Jean-Pierre Danthine,the Swiss National Bank’s vice chairman, told Swiss Sunday newspaper Le Matin Dimanche
“At the moment, the cap on the franc is the top priority”
and that it will enforce its cap on the Swiss franc for as long as it is necessary.
He said that the SNB’s cap on the exchange rate limited its capacity to act on interest rates, but, in addition, “The opposite is also true: we’re intervening on exchange rates because interest rates are at zero”.
He added
“On the day the SNB decides to raise short-term interest rates, there can no longer be a cap that’s being enforced”
- Said rates will rise again “one day”
- Said banks are underestimating the risks, and that a rise in rates would have a “significant negative impact on banks”
Maybe the banks are underestimating the risks, but Swiss consumers seem to be more cautious, data on Wednesday showed Q3 Swiss consumer confidence coming in 10 points lower than economists forecast
