jean - pierre roth : recent economic and financial developments in switzerland introductory remarks 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 half - yearly media news conference, berne, 14 june 2007. * * * the swiss national bank is raising the target range for the three - month libor with immediate effect by 0. 25 percentage points to 2. 00 – 3. 00 %. with this move, the national bank is ensuring that inflation prospects remain favourable. the snb intends to hold the rate in the middle of the target range for the time being. switzerland's economy is in excellent shape. indeed, the economy is developing even better than expected back in march. for 2007, the national bank now expects real gdp to grow at a rate of close to 2. 5 %. the healthy economy in the neighbouring countries and exchange rate developments have been contributing factors. together with a renewed rise in oil prices, this has led to a slight deterioration in inflation prospects – even after today's increase in the interest rate. assuming that the three - month libor remains unchanged at 2. 50 %, the national bank expects an average annual inflation rate of 0. 8 % in 2007, 1. 5 % in 2008, and 1. 7 % in 2009. consequently, forecast inflation continues to rise. however, at present there is considerable uncertainty with regard to the assessment of the inflation outlook. on the one hand, structural changes in the economy still have a dampening effect on prices. on the other hand, given the high level of capacity utilisation and movements in the exchange rate, there is a danger that higher production costs will increasingly be passed on to prices. should economic momentum remain unchanged or should movements in the swiss franc result in a further relaxation of monetary conditions, further increases in the interest rate are likely in the months ahead. economic outlook the international environment has a strong impact on economic developments in switzerland. according to the imf forecasts, the global economy is poised to grow at a sustained rate of approximately 5 % in 2007. while the economic activity in the united states has been satisfactory, it is a little less dynamic than expected. by contrast, the economic situation in europe is clearly healthier than we had expected. this encouraging development has had a favourable impact on our economy. economic activity in switzerland continued to be dynamic in the first months of the year. in

thomas jordan : the challenges of the global economic crisis – can switzerland master them? summary of a speech by mr thomas jordan, vice - chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, on the occasion of a panel discussion at the central bank of the republic of austria, vienna, 1 february 2011. the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website. * * * many countries are facing major economic challenges as a result of the financial and economic crisis. which of these are of particular importance for switzerland? and how can we tackle them? switzerland is currently facing three key challenges. first, the crisis has shown that countries can encounter serious difficulties due to systemically important banks. switzerland has two systemically important banks, in fact, these big banks are systemically important even at the global level. thus for our country, in particular, it is essential that the stability of the financial system be sustainably reinforced. second, the crisis has substantially changed the economic environment in which switzerland – an economy with an extremely global orientation – operates. on the one hand, our country has to cope with the appreciation of the swiss franc, particularly against the euro, which has come under pressure because of the sovereign debt crisis affecting certain european countries. on the other hand, the crisis has reinforced the shift in economic power towards the emerging economies. consequently, switzerland must do everything it can to secure its competitive position in this changing world – now and in the future. third, convincing answers will be needed to counter the international pressure on switzerland, which has increased considerably of late, particularly in connection with the question of the tax compliance of foreign assets in switzerland. these are formidable challenges. however, switzerland is well equipped to meet them with confidence. what is essential is that we are able to benefit from the strengths that characterise the country now as in the past. these success factors include ( a ) a social and political culture that builds on inclusiveness and the ability to reach a consensus, ( b ) innovative ability and flexibility, and ( c ) political and economic stability. bis central bankers ’ speeches