admitted or suspected, are problematic for the reputation of the banks involved, and for the financial sector as a whole. this discussion bis central bankers ’ speeches on the libor is also significant for us, because we use the three - month libor in the implementation of monetary policy. no swiss franc libor distortions relevant to monetary policy have thus far been ascertained. furthermore, an snb survey conducted among banks this year confirmed that the libor remains an important variable for credit transactions, namely for mortgages. of the banks surveyed, 80 % indicated that they use the libor as a benchmark for pricing loans. it also continues to play a key role in the pricing of financial products and derivatives. neither the sharp decline in unsecured loans on the interbank market nor the incidents of manipulation have so far changed this. in july 2012, the financial services authority ( fsa ) in the uk was commissioned to undertake a review on reforming the libor. at the end of september, the working group convened for this purpose presented its findings in the wheatley review, which included a series of proposed measures. these aim to prevent further attempts at manipulation, and to restore confidence in the libor. the report recommends, inter alia, that rate - setting processes and their oversight be improved, and that certain maturities and currencies be withdrawn. under the proposals, the three - month swiss franc libor will continue to be determined. thus at present, there are no consequences for the implementation of our monetary policy. discussions are also currently underway at the international level on the meaning and structure of benchmark interest rates on money markets. the snb, as member of a bis working group, is also involved in these discussions. from the point of view of monetary policy and financial stability, the working group identifies core requirements for credible and robust reference rates. central banks or banking oversight bodies could play a supportive role in reform efforts, inasmuch as the extensive use of benchmark rates affects the general public. however, since reference interest rates are primarily there to cover the needs of the financial markets, market participants are themselves ultimately under obligation. bis central bankers ’ speeches

. at the end of september, 83 % of foreign currency holdings were invested in foreign government bonds or held as sight deposits at other central banks and the bank for international settlements ( bis ). a further 5 % were held in other investments, mainly corporate bonds. approximately 96 % of our fixed - income securities are rated aaa or aa. around 12 % of the foreign currency investments are in – exclusively foreign – equities. the snb thereby holds equities to a value of about chf 50 billion. i would like to emphasise that all of our equity investments are managed passively. we first decide in which markets we want to invest, and then replicate appropriate share indices. the primacy of monetary policy clearly differentiates the snb from most other investors. in contrast to these, the exchange rate risk on our foreign currency investments cannot be hedged. this would directly conflict with our monetary policy, since any hedging would be equivalent to a purchase of swiss francs against foreign currencies, which would intensify the upward pressure on the swiss franc. therefore the broadest possible diversification of our foreign currency investments is our sole means of reducing exchange rate risk. at the end of september, 48 % of foreign currency holdings were invested in euros, compared with 60 % at mid - year, with 28 % invested in us dollars, and 24 % in other currencies. we are continuously evaluating new asset classes and currencies in both advanced and emerging economies ; this year, the snb began investing in the south korean won. our goal is to further diversify our foreign currency investments and thereby reduce risk concentration. to avoid undesirable third - market effects, our entire investment activity is invariably undertaken with a high degree of prudence and caution in respect of potentially adverse effects on markets. this applies equally to inflows and reallocations of investments, as well as to the establishment of new positions. if, for example, we see ourselves confronted with very high foreign currency inflows, we might place these in sight deposit accounts at other central banks, before investing them in securities. the snb has absolutely no interest in causing market distortions or influencing currency movements in other countries. issues surrounding the libor and reference interest rates i would like to conclude by exploring some of the issues in connection with the libor rate, and the global discussion on reference interest rates in money markets generally. incidents of the libor being manipulated, whether already