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FRANC

Swiss central banker sees franc weakening

The Swiss National Bank, which set an exchange rate floor against the euro of 1.20 francs to curb its spike in value, expects the franc to decline in the future, a board member said on Tuesday.

Published: 25 January 2012 10:23 CET

“The Swiss franc is still highly valued but it should depreciate further in the future,” Jean-Pierre Danthine said in an address at Zurich University.

The SNB will continue to enforce the minimum rate by remaining prepared to buy unlimited quantities of foreign currencies, Danthine said, echoing a central bank statement released at the start of the year.

The franc, considered a safe haven in times of financial turbulence, posted a sharp gain in value last year, going from 1.23 per euro at the beginning of July to less than 1.05 a month later.

It has remained near 1.20 since a central bank intervention in September.

The SNB was dealt a blow with the loss of earlier this month of its head Philipp Hildebrand, who stepped down following an outcry over foreign currency exchanges made by his wife.

Danthine said he “deeply regretted” Hildebrand’s resignation.

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BANK

Swiss National Bank hit by new spray paint attack

A woman activist spray painted a message on a billboard outside Switzerland’s central bank on Friday in an echo of a similar protest last year in which an 86-year-old woman was arrested.

Published: 27 April 2018 13:00 CEST
Swiss National Bank hit by new spray paint attack
File photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

The incident occurred as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) held its annual general meeting in Bern, the Blick newspaper reported.

An unidentified woman sprayed the message 'please remember why we founded you' on the billboard in red paint.

According to the paper, the protestor was campaigning in support of the campaign for monetary reform, which goes to a nationwide vote in June.

READ ALSO: Why the Swiss National Bank needs more gold

Known as the Vollgeld Initiative in German and the Initiative Monnaie Pleine in French, the initiative calls an end to traditional bank lending and for the SNB to be the only financial institution able to issue money. 

The SNB opposes the sovereign money initiative.

With the help of other activists, the spray painter removed the words a short time later.

Almost exactly one year ago an 86-year-old woman was arrested after spraying an anti-war message outside the SNB in a case that drew worldwide attention.

READ ALSO: Woman, 86, arrested for spraying anti-war graffiti on Swiss National Bank

The peace activist spray-painted ‘Money for weapons kills' on the billboard. 

She was campaigning on behalf of the Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSsA) which had launched a popular initiative to ban Swiss financing of any company that produces arms. 

If it gathers the required 100,000 signatures by October 2018, the issue will go to a national referendum.