have just described, the snb continues to take the view that targeted mortgage loan - related measures are necessary in the residential investment property segment. the snb supports the federal council ’ s proposal to raise the capital requirements for highltv loans in this segment. specifically, this would involve increasing the risk weights for loan tranches exceeding two - thirds of the residential investment property ’ s value. the snb welcomes the swiss bankers association ’ s readiness to consider a revision to the selfregulation guidelines as an alternative to the federal council ’ s proposal. such a revision would reduce the ltv ratio and shorten the amortisation period for new loans financing residential investment property. in the snb ’ s assessment, the domestically focused banks hold sufficient capital to cover their risk exposure. despite a fall in profitability in 2018 as a result of a further reduction in interest margins, they have been able to maintain their capital situation. snb stress tests continue to suggest that most of these banks have a sound capital base, enabling them to cover any losses they might incur under adverse scenarios. the proposed measures should help to ensure that the level of risks incurred in the mortgage market remains bearable in the future. for its part, the snb will continue to monitor developments on the mortgage and real estate markets closely, and will regularly reassess the need for an adjustment of the countercyclical capital buffer. page 3 / 3

news conference berne, 13 june 2019 fritz zurbrugg introductory remarks by fritz zurbrugg in my remarks today, i will present the key findings from this year ’ s financial stability report, published by the swiss national bank this morning. in the first part of my speech, i will talk about the big banks, before going on, in the second part, to outline our assessment of the situation at the domestically focused banks. big banks the global economic and financial market conditions that the two swiss big banks are facing have become slightly more difficult since our assessment this time last year. nevertheless, further progress has been achieved in implementing the revised ‘ too big to fail ’ regulations. this holds true for both areas covered by the regulations : resilience and resolution. as regards resilience, the swiss big banks credit suisse and ubs have slightly improved their capital situation overall. as a result, they are now close to full compliance with the lookthrough going - concern capital requirements on a consolidated basis. the current calibration of these regulatory requirements is necessary to ensure adequate resilience at both banks. this is confirmed by both our loss potential analyses and the historical loss experience during the last financial crisis. the market ’ s assessment of the two big banks ’ resilience is generally similar to that of the previous year. their stand - alone ratings, which evaluate the intrinsic financial strength of the banks, assuming no extraordinary external support, remain unchanged. furthermore, after rising in the second half of 2018, credit default swap premia are now back at roughly the same level as in mid - 2018. in the area of resolution, the swiss big banks have improved their gone - concern lossabsorbing capacity since last year ’ s financial stability report. credit suisse and ubs already meet all look - through requirements on a consolidated basis. page 1 / 3 berne, 13 june 2019 fritz zurbrugg news conference in addition to those at group level, the federal council has drawn up requirements on big banks ’ loss - absorbing capacity at the level of individual group entities, and in early april initiated a consultation on a corresponding amendment to the capital adequacy ordinance. these requirements are intended to ensure that not only the group as a whole, but also material group entities have sufficient loss - absorbing capital in the event of a crisis. the snb supports the proposed amendments to the capital adequacy ordinance. work is also underway with regard to liquidity in