Latest update for June 2015: The pace of SNB intervention is slowing. Sight deposits, the indicator for SNB interventions, rise by 0.5 billion francs per week.
April and May: Sight deposits rise by 1.5 billion CHF per week. Thanks to this intervention the SNB is able to maintain the EUR/CHF around 1.0450.
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Category Archive: 1) SNB and CHF
The Swiss economy: True to form
FOREIGN skiers were bound to suffer. So was the Swiss economy, most assumed, after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) suddenly abandoned the Swiss francโs peg to the euro in January. The franc rose by 30% against the euro in a matter of minutes, and remains about 15% higher than it was. This made Swiss exports more expensive for foreigners, and foreign goods cheaper for the Swiss.
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Q1/2015: Swiss Real GDP Rises by 15 percent … in Euro Terms
George Dorgan shows that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measurement in the local currency. Effectively, Swiss real GDP rose by 15% in Euro terms, but fell slightly in CHF. He also emphasizes that Switzerland needs a big rebalancing of its economy, away from exports towards consumption. The Swiss National Bank was right to remove the euro peg. The move towards consumption is only possible when the Swiss franc is stronger because consumers will...
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The two phases of CHF appreciation… and what is in between
We show the two phases or "two innings" of Swiss franc appreciation: The risk aversion phase and the high inflation phase.
With the weakening of emerging markets and the strengthening of the United States in 2013/2014, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) had won the first battle in the war against financial market, the "risk aversion game", the first inning in two-part match. Risk aversion is lower because the United States recovered with weaker oil...
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Swiss Franc History: The Gold Standard and Bretton Woods
In this post we will show the history of the Swiss Franc until 1971, a monetary era driven by the gold standard and the Bretton Woods period, both periods with nearly fixed exchange rates.
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Ex-Post FX Evaluation: Is the Swiss Capital Account Able to Neutralise the Persistent Current Account Surpluses?
(post written originally in March 2013)
We reckon that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will have issues maintaining the EUR/CHF floor in the longer term, because the expected yields on Swiss investments abroad will not be sufficiently higher than the yield on investments in Switzerland. Because of this insufficient risk-reward relationship, outflows in the capital account of the Swiss balance of payments will not cover the persistent Swiss current...
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Rising Sight Deposits at SNB Means Rising SNB Debt
Money creation and sight deposits may have two points of view:
1. The central bank creates money - i.e. the SNB decides to increase sight deposits when it does currency interventions
2. Commercial banks create money - inflows in CHF on Swiss bank accounts make those banks increase their "sight deposits at the SNB. If inflows in CHF are higher than outflows then CHF must rise, unless the central bank does currency interventions.
We will present...
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The Last Free Lunch for Holders of SNB’s High-Risk Share?
Marc Meyer, the maybe strongest opponent of the Swiss National Bank criticizes the misleading vocabulary in monetary policy that confuses central bank liabilities with assets. He identifies the intrinsic and time value of the SNB share. According to Meyer, the recent strong share price performance was caused by the free lunch at the shareholder assembly.
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SNB’s IMF data
This IMF data on the SNB website shows SNB Forex and gold reserves in the last month. It is so-called "IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard (SNB Data)"
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Where does SNB intervene against overvalued CHF, do they sell EUR & USD? (April Update)
In his first response to the Swiss financial tsunami on January 15, George Dorgan suggested that the EUR/CHF of 1.10 will not be reached any time soon. He explains where the SNB should intervene and if they sell Euros and dollars.
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Marc Meyer
The best posts by Marc Meyer, the biggest and most influential enemy of the Swiss National Bank. He regularly published in German on InsideParadeplatz.ch
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Is the Swiss Franc Really so Expensive or is Swiss Consumption anemic?
One of the most predictable consequences of the Swiss National Bankโs decision to stop suppressing the exchange rate between the franc and the euro was the whinging of Swiss exporters. That doesnโt mean the policy change was an error. If anything, it may help rebalance the Swiss economy away from its excessive dependence on exports towards greater levels of domestic consumption.
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Werden Bund und Kantone die Nationalbank rekapitalisieren?
Marc Meyer speaks out against the view of Barry Eichengreen and Beatrice Weder di Mauro that published an article in Project Syndicate. The two professors were of the opinion that the SNB could print without limit. Meyer does not agree.
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Colin Lloyd on the end of the EUR CHF peg
Colin Llyod gives a detailed explanation of the end of the EUR/CHF peg on Seeking Alpha. Most extracts come from George Dorgan, on snbchf.com
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