ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank does not think the Swiss economy will slip into recession but cannot rule it out, SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan said in a newspaper interview on Friday.
“We currently don’t expect that to happen. The Swiss economy should grow by 2 percent this year,” he was quoted as saying by the Blick newspaper. The SNB made the forecast when it raised its policy rate by 75 basis points into positive territory on Thursday.
“Next year, things could get cloudier even more. But there are a number of risks that could negatively impact economic growth. For example, if energy prices surge again or economic conditions worsen abroad. Or if the coronavirus The situation got worse again,” he said.
“All of this has a very negative impact. Then the global economy can no longer be completely ruled out, so the Swiss economy could also fall into recession.”
Jordan said it was now up to individual banks to decide what interest rate to offer to depositors. The SNB has ended the era of negative interest rates.
“But banks are competing with each other and rely on depositors to bring their money to the bank, where they have their payroll accounts. In the medium term, this will also lead to higher interest rates on bank accounts,” he said. .
