swiss economy has been doing better than its neighbouring countries in terms of growth and employment, and also in terms of price stability. obviously, the fact that we are not a member of the european union is not an obstacle to our development. • switzerland is increasingly becoming a service - producing country. the flagship of our service industry is the financial sector, which expanded markedly in the 90s and now accounts for 15 % of our gdp – more than the machine tool industry and the chemical industry together. the number of banks, however, was reduced by half during that period and the number of bank employees remained stable despite expanding financial activities. these figures show that our financial industry has been eager to react swiftly to the challenges posed by globalisation. • switzerland has a solid balance of payments position. thanks to a large excess of savings over domestic investment, our current account surplus is constant and substantial. contrary to popular belief, my country is not an importer of capital, but a net capital exporter. our current account surplus represents 14 % of our gdp, a level which can only be compared to that of some asian countries. in recent years, our surplus in absolute terms was even larger than the surplus of the euro zone as a whole. • switzerland is well - known for its stable monetary framework. average inflation over the last 20 years amounted to 1. 8 %. we never went through monetary reforms as many european countries did in the past few decades. in fact, we still use the coins put into circulation in 1850, when the swiss franc was created. there is no better proof of monetary stability. • switzerland enjoys the lowest interest rate level in europe. this situation has nothing to do with the appeal of our bank secrecy, as many believe, but with the abundance of savings 1 / 3 and the high degree of price stability. since the introduction of the euro in 1999, the average interest rate on three - month euro deposits has been 3 %, while the three - month swiss franc rate has been 1. 4 %. if we assume a difference of about 1 % in the expected level of inflation between the euro area and switzerland, the swiss real interest rate advantage accounts for 60 basis points. • switzerland is also a firm believer in flexible exchange rates. our monetary regime has been unchanged since 1973, when the peg to the us dollar was removed. today, the swiss franc is freely determined by market forces. our last foreign exchange intervention dates back to 1995 – and that was a coordinated action in

jean - pierre roth : switzerland - a platform for global business keynote address by mr jean - pierre roth, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank and chairman of the board of directors of the bank for international settlements, at the consulate general of switzerland / swiss - american chamber of commerce, new york, 1 june 2006. * * * it is a great pleasure for me to be with you today and i would like to thank my dear friend, ambassador loretan, for hosting this lunch of the swiss - american chamber of commerce. swiss people always feel at home, here, in this fascinating city. new york is a unique place, not only because of its size, its beautiful skyline, its location, but foremost because of its openness to the world and its multiculturalism. compared to new york, is switzerland anything more than just a small village located in the heart of europe, a country of watchmakers and chocolate producers? is there anything to see other than the matterhorn and the water fountain on lake geneva? it is interesting to note that, despite the strong presence of swiss multinationals abroad and, of course, the very well - known swiss flag – thanks to the red cross flag – switzerland is largely ignored in international surveys and is almost non - existent in european statistics. “ to live happily, live out of sight! ” ( pour vivre heureux vivons caches ) is a well - known proverb. this may well be true, but it serves to fuel many cliches ; and misconceptions are generally counterproductive. let me show you the hidden side of switzerland. you will see that modern switzerland is adjusting rapidly to the changing reality of the world economy. let's consider a few facts : • with 7. 5 million people, switzerland is indeed a small country. although we have no natural resources, we have a highly developed economy and a gdp per capita that clearly exceeds the european average. contrary to the situation among some of our neighbours, our population is still growing, thanks to immigration. our foreign population now represents about 20 % of the total population and 25 % of the labour force. despite strong immigration, our unemployment rate – 3. 5 % – is relatively low. • switzerland remains a slow - growing country when compared to the united states. our weak growth performance is due in part to the full employment, the relatively high level of personal income and the limited scope for domestic investment. however, in recent years, the