"… it is the governments that need to step in and take the bold, necessary, political decisions in order to restore stability"
- Athanasios Orphanides, former European Central Bank policymaker
The amount of cash Swiss commercial banks hold with nation's central bank fell slightly in the week to September 21, a sign that investors are getting more anxious over Eurozone's financial woes. Sight deposits of domestic banks tumbled to 292.3 billion francs last week, down from 294.2 billion a week earlier, posting a first decline since May.
"As a consequence of the realignment of the financial centre and the planned withholding tax, we assume that a total of hundreds of billions of francs will flow out of Switzerland," said Juerg Zeltner, head of UBS wealth management.
"The actions of the ECB have had the effect of buying some additional time for the governments and it is the governments that need to step in and take the bold, necessary, political decisions in order to restore stability," said former European Central Bank policymaker Athanasios Orphanides.
The Swiss blue-chip index SMI, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies lost 0.13 per cent to 6,597.22. The broader Swiss Performance Index fell 0.16 per cent to 6,101.60.
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