has continued to decline. the vix index, which measures implied volatility on the us stock market, and which is based on option prices, is virtually back down to the level last seen prior to the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2007. a very similar picture emerges from implied volatilities on the foreign currency and bond markets. the low volatilities are due to comparatively low demand for options to hedge price movements. this suggests that market participants ’ misgivings about prevailing uncertainties have dissipated somewhat, which is likely not least of all a consequence of monetary policy measures by major central banks. in addition, some investors appear to expect that central banks will continue to pursue expansionary monetary policies for the foreseeable future, with low interest rates and an ample supply of liquidity. in switzerland, interest rates remain at a very low level. the yield on ten - year swiss confederation bonds declined to a new low at the beginning of december, at 0. 39 %. no other government has ever recorded nominal ten - year financing costs at such a low level. bis central bankers ’ speeches money market rates also continue to be very low. interest rates on the repo market are predominantly negative. at 1 basis point, the three - month libor lies only just above zero. based on libor futures contracts, the interest rate expectations of market participants are that the low rate environment will continue for the foreseeable future. management of foreign currency investments our foreign currency purchases in early summer to enforce the minimum exchange rate have resulted in high inflows to the snb ’ s foreign currency holdings. these holdings have increased by chf 167 billion since the beginning of the year to chf 425 billion at the end of november. this is a direct consequence of our monetary policy. in the event that foreign currency purchases are necessary to implement the minimum exchange rate, our foreign currency reserves increase, and the balance sheet expands. monetary policy requirements also have highest priority when it comes to managing the foreign currency reserves. this is reflected, on the one hand, in the conditions on which we base our investment decisions, namely security, liquidity and performance. on the other hand, the primacy of monetary policy is also evident in the way we implement our investment policy. we proceed here with great caution to avoid causing distortions in the markets. we take account of the security and liquidity requirements for foreign currency investments by ensuring that a substantial part of our portfolio comprises high - quality government bonds

will facilitate real - time processing of financial transactions. these bsp objectives hinge on a triad of critical pillars that are seen to build an environment conducive to digital transformation. one of the pillars relates to the development of payment streams. at present, instapay serves as the instant payment stream, while pesonet is a batched payment stream. the next pillar relates to the establishment of digital infrastructure which facilitates interoperability of payment services. interoperability allows seamless transaction processing which is necessary for achieving efficiency. the last pillar is the implementation of digital governance standard. the goal is to maintain public trust in the payment systems. this will be done by protecting the integrity of consumer data and ensuring appropriate management of digital products and services. aside from the establishment of the digital payments transformation roadmap, we are set to pursue more digital payment initiatives in the near term. we want to extend the qr ph use case. from only person - to - person or p2p when it was launched in november 2019, qr ph will soon include person - to - merchant or p2m payments. since accepting payments via qr is simple and affordable, it is expected to benefit not only large business organizations but also the small unbanked vendors such as peddlers, sari - sari store owners, and other entrepreneurs. another initiative is the one bills payment facility, which aims to remove the inefficiencies associated with the current fragmented bills payment mechanisms. the billers will be capable of collecting from their customers even if the payment service providers of the billers are different from those of the customers. we will also provide a more flexible way for businesses and consumers to make payments through the request to pay service. the payee will only need to send an electronic request for payment to the payer, showing how much is being requested for payment and when it falls due. a fourth initiative in the pipeline is the direct debit use case. here, the payer sends the payee an electronic authority or mandate to draw funds directly from the payer ’ s account on a regular basis. this case is ideal for recurring payments such as monthly rentals, periodic loan amortizations, and quarterly insurance premiums. 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches aside from the establishment of the digital payments transformation roadmap, we are set to pursue more digital payment initiatives in the near term. we want to extend the qr ph use case.