products in rural lending there is an imperative need for the marketing staff to be knowledgeable about agricultural practices and operations, besides being well acquainted with the features of the products and their suitability to the targeted category of customer. in a sense, providing financial services will also involve providing extension services as a risk mitigant. hence, banks will need proactive technical officers who can not only provide such services, but also train their field staff. another very important requirement is relationship management in terms of face - to - face familiarity and continuity of contact. surely, it is not without reason that the rural folk are comfortable with persons like the postmen and even the local moneylender, with whom they have occasion to regularly interact. banks would do well to address this need for building up a relationship and rapport with the rural clientele. o use of information technology ( it ) there are a variety of ways in which it can be used by banks. delivery of banking services through it based solutions, such as mobile phones and smart cards, while keeping costs low, is one huge opportunity for increasing outreach afforded by modern technology that is rapidly innovating. other uses of it are in credit risk management and pricing, which require maintaining a comprehensive computerised data base – this can be used for a variety of purposes, such as marketing, credit scoring, pricing, credit monitoring including rating migration and devising appropriate internal control systems, etc. there is clearly a need to have credit information companies across the entire country ; the huge externalities associated with having comprehensive credit records can be derived for more efficient financial intermediation. with appropriate it solutions in place and suitable field staff, banks can also provide market insurance and capital market products for increasing their non funded business. o developing and using risk mitigants the three important risks identified in agricultural lending are yield risk ( or input output risk ), calamity risk and price risk. banks will need to aim at minimising these risks if they have to deliver affordable credit to agriculture. extension work, including proper advice on use of fertiliser and pesticides, ensuring quality seeds and inputs are activities that minimise yield risk. enterprises providing such services would need to be supported by banks and actively encouraged. calamity risk minimisation involves insurance of crops and assets, including of livestock / cattle and fisheries. while restructuring of loans can provide more time for repayment, repeated rescheduling could lead to instalments ballooning beyond the repay

to restore the equilibrium between supply and demand for capital. monetary policy amid low interest rates what does the lower level of interest rates worldwide mean when it comes to conventional monetary policy? if interest rates are already low, monetary policy is less able to respond to shocks. if the economy and inflation weaken, a central bank will normally stimulate economic activity by lowering interest rates. this mitigates the slowdown and stabilises prices. if interest rates are already low, however, a central bank only has a few moves at its disposal before rates reach zero. and once that happens, conventional monetary policy ends. the restrictions on the latitude of conventional monetary policy are even more pronounced in the case of switzerland. indeed, our country has traditionally been known for its political and economic stability, and the swiss franc is thus viewed by investors as being particularly safe. in return for this security, they are prepared to hold investments in swiss francs at lower rates of interest than they would in other currencies. this has in the past led to interest rates in switzerland generally being lower than in other countries. therefore if monetary policy page 3 / 8 needed to be eased, the starting point for interest rate cuts was correspondingly lower here than elsewhere. monetary policy reaction to the major economic crisis ladies and gentlemen, the global financial and economic crisis broke out eleven years ago, and was followed by a marked decline in economic output and inflation. at that time, the snb had to switch to an expansionary monetary policy stance in order to fulfil its mandate. we initially responded with conventional measures, and quickly lowered interest rates to virtually zero. the global financial crisis was swiftly followed by the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area. the attendant uncertainty on the financial markets bolstered demand for the swiss franc as a safe haven, thus putting appreciation pressure on our currency. to counter these upward forces, we had no option but to resort to unconventional means. we intervened on the foreign exchange market, and in september 2011 introduced a minimum exchange rate against the euro. from mid - 2014 onwards, the international monetary policy environment began to change. on the one hand there were increasingly clearer signs that the us was about to adopt a tightening stance, whereas in the euro area a loosening of monetary policy was becoming more and more likely. the euro subsequently depreciated markedly against the major currencies. as a result, by the beginning of 2015 the minimum exchange rate was no longer sustainable. to retain control over our monetary