"Global uncertainty will persist for the foreseeable future and drive demand for secure investments"
- SNB President Thomas Jordan
The Swiss National Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.0%, meeting analysts' expectations. At the same time the bank claimed its readiness to uphold its 15-month defence of the franc in order to protect the economy. The SNB has been selling francs for other currencies, mostly euros, in order to avoid the risk of deflation and a recession, when investors rushed to buy Swiss francs as a safe haven from the Eurozone's debt crisis. In the statement the SNB also said that Swiss economy is expected to grow by 1% in this year, while gross domestic product is likely to increase between 1% and 1.5% in 2013. However, they expressed their concerns about a booming property market, saying they may force banks to boost their capital buffers against the bubble bursting.
"Global uncertainty will persist for the foreseeable future and drive demand for secure investments," SNB President Thomas Jordan said at a briefing in Bern. "As a result, the exchange-rate situation will remain fragile, despite the calmer environment that has come about as a result of the measures taken by the ECB. We cannot exclude the possibility that we will have to intervene substantially again."
SNB Vice Chairman Jean-Pierre Danthine added: "We want to contribute to a soft landing. Activating the countercyclical capital buffer is a question of timing."
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