Swiss National Bank (SNB)
Decentralised tech will not become the new normal – SNB’s Jordan
There is a time and a place for distributed ledgers, says chairman of Switzerland’s SNB, but right now they cannot compete with existing FMIs
German economist wins central bank prize
Klaus Adam wins award jointly sponsored by SNB, Bundesbank and National Bank of Austria for “innovative work” on asset prices and monetary policy
Co-operation: The competitive edge against counterfeiting
A collaborative approach to banknote projects with trustworthy partners frees up time and resources, pools and mitigates risk, and helps to fulfil the most demanding expectations from stakeholders and the public. Most importantly, it decisively stiffens…
Analysts see intervention challenge for central banks
Following the fallout of EU referendum result, central banks step in to stabilise currency movements; analysts expect volatility to continue, but see challenges to intervention
Central banks offer reassurance as UK votes to leave EU
Mark Carney stresses UK authorities are “well prepared” for the outcome, as central banks across globe pledge liquidity if needed; narrow vote to leave sees David Cameron announce resignation
SNB paper challenges idea that capital flows drive Swiss franc value
Empirical study finds no strong relationship between capital flows and the level of the franc, meshing with earlier literature showing asset prices can move sharply without major portfolio shifts
Swiss franc still ‘significantly overvalued' – Jordan
Chairman of Swiss National Bank governing board says dual policy of negative rates and willingness to intervene in forex market are helping support the economy
SNB officials fend off latest ideas for reform
Thomas Jordan and Jean Studer warn of the damage that could be done by proposals including sovereign money, broader mandate and using reserves to create sovereign wealth fund
Swiss RTGS update goes live
SNB hails successful launch of completely overhauled real-time gross settlement system; design has been made more flexible, incorporating ISO 20022 messaging standard
Senior IMF figures support nominal negative rates
Negative nominal interest rates can help deliver additional monetary stimulus, senior figures at the IMF "tentatively" conclude
Swiss National Bank bolsters security features of first banknote in new series
The new series printed on three-layered substrate boasts a range of new security features; Sfr50 enters circulation on April 12
Maechler says SNB plans to wield hefty balance sheet to encourage good governance
Swiss National Bank’s balance sheet has ballooned following currency interventions, leading to the question of what to do with the newly acquired assets
SNB made investment ‘innovations’ in 2015, report says
Central bank made first investments in new assets and began to wield voting rights to influence corporate governance in 2015, annual report shows
Reserve manager of the year: National Bank of Denmark
The National Bank of Denmark's new risk budget-based investment strategy stood up well to the unprecedented flows of funds into and out of the country in 2015.
SNB’s Zurbrügg lays out considerations around interventions
Vice-chairman of governing board says there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method for deciding when or how to intervene in the foreign exchange market
People: Ukraine names new first deputy governor; EBA announces host of appointments
Ukrainian deputy governor promoted to first deputy governor role; EBA makes appointments and reappointments to supervisory and management boards; and more
Sovereign money a ‘risky experiment’ says SNB’s Jordan
Thomas Jordan says sovereign money initiative looking to strip banks of ability to create money would ‘entail a radical overhaul of Switzerland’s financial system’; SNB holds rates
Information content of capital flows affects exchange rate impact, SNB paper finds
Private information conveyed by different kinds of capital flows affects the impact on the exchange rate, a working paper published by the Swiss National Bank finds
SNB’s Zurbrügg says negative rates painful but necessary
Vice-chair concerned by financial stability impact of negative interest rates, but says they make sense from a monetary policy perspective; talks with industry have been ‘very heated’
Economists expected lower inflation under Yellen than Bernanke, SNB paper finds
Sample of economists from ‘reputable academic and policy institutions’ on aggregate expected slightly lower inflation under Yellen compared to if Bernanke had stayed on
BIS paper studies impact of Swiss CCB on quality of credit
Working paper finds activation of countercyclical capital buffer affected the composition of mortgage lenders in two key ways
Case for higher inflation targets takes a knock at Jackson Hole
Thomas Jordan warns higher inflation ‘likely to be associated with considerable costs’ in longer run; academics see little benefit in the Federal Reserve targeting 4%
SNB launches interactive ‘data portal’
Central bank plans to release larger volumes and more detailed data in future, after launching an online database to help users find and manipulate the information
SNB reveals launch date for delayed banknote series
Roll-out of ninth banknote series to begin next year; new notes believed to include unique security features but central bank is being tight-lipped in the run up to the launch