the name of my colleague, bis central bankers ’ speeches jean - pierre danthine – for their hard work and their solidarity with the snb. we thank our shareholders for their continuing support. and we thank you all for taking such a great interest in the activities of the snb. finally, we would also like to thank our former colleague and chairman of the snb governing board, philipp hildebrand, for the good collaboration we enjoyed over the years. we very much regret his resignation and the circumstances leading up to it. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

first, it is unclear what direction economic policy in the us will take following the presidential election. second, several countries in the euro area have important elections coming up in 2017. and third, exit negotiations between the uk and the eu are likely to be complex and arduous. swiss economic outlook i shall now turn to the economic outlook for switzerland. according to an initial quarterly estimate, gdp in switzerland grew at an annualised rate of 0. 2 % in the third quarter. this small increase must also be seen in the context of high growth in the second quarter. year - on - year, gdp rose by 1. 3 % in the third quarter. initial quarterly estimates of the national accounts are uncertain by definition. the snb therefore takes a wide range of additional information into account when assessing the economic situation. available indicators suggest that there has been a gradual recovery since mid - 2015, which continued in the second half of 2016. a key factor here is improved business and household sentiment in the euro area and other advanced economies, which in turn creates a more favourable environment for the swiss export industry. overall, the signals from the economic indicators are consistent with our previous gdp growth forecast of around 1. 5 % for 2016 as a whole. developments on the labour market support this view. employment statistics show that the number of jobs in switzerland grew in the third quarter, too. up until november, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for this year was stable at 3. 3 %. the outlook for the coming year is cautiously optimistic. over the course of 2017, export demand looks set to gradually strengthen further. for the export industry, this will mean better capacity utilisation and less pressure on margins. we are also expecting a gradual recovery on the labour market. various surveys confirm this assessment. together with our continued expansionary monetary policy, labour market developments should boost domestic demand. private consumption, too, is likely to once again make a greater contribution to economic growth. overall, as for 2016, the snb expects gdp growth for 2017 to be roughly 1. 5 %. however, the swiss economy will also face some major challenges in the coming year. structural change continues to affect several important industries. retailing is having to contend with changes both to distribution channels and the spending habits of households. the financial sector will have to push ahead with regulatory adjustments and manage the transition to new business models, while in manufacturing, digitalisation is going to be a particular focus of attention. our country ’ s future