year. according to the latest reading, switzerland ’ s smi is up around 3 % ( cf. chart 1 ). on the interest rate markets, yields on long - term government bonds continued to reflect expectations of an ongoing low interest rate environment. although yields on us treasuries did trend upwards slightly overall in the second half of the year, 10 - year us treasuries continued to trade at historically low levels – around 0. 9 % according to the latest figures – following the marked drop in interest rates at the beginning of the year. the yield on 10 - year german government bonds continued to decline from mid - year under the influence of the ecb ’ s bond purchases. a moderate decline in yields was also observed in switzerland. for example, the latest reading shows the yield on 10 - year confederation bonds just below the mid - year values, at around – 0. 6 % ( cf. chart 2 ). on the foreign exchange markets, the persistent downtrend of the us dollar has been the dominant theme in recent months. on a trade - weighted basis, the dollar has depreciated by over 7 % since the end of june. against the backdrop of predominantly positive risk sentiment, the dollar was less in demand as a safe - haven currency. the rise in inflation expectations in the us is also likely to have contributed to the depreciation of the dollar. the euro, by contrast, has appreciated by almost 3 % on a trade - weighted basis since mid - year. it strengthened in particular following the announcement of the eu recovery fund, which market participants interpreted as a sign of stronger fiscal cohesion within the euro area. trading in the pound sterling has been volatile over recent months in light of the ongoing brexit negotiations ; the currency has appreciated over 2 % on a trade - weighted basis since mid - year. the swiss franc trended mainly sideways on a trade - weighted basis during the summer months, before coming under renewed appreciation pressure in the autumn due to the second coronavirus wave and heightened uncertainty ahead of the us elections. the swiss franc only weakened again recently with the prospect of a covid - 19 vaccine and hopes of a faster recovery of the global economy. on a trade - weighted basis, the swiss franc is almost 1. 5 % stronger in nominal terms than at the end of june ( cf. chart 3 ). it thus remains highly valued. as reported in our interim results, we carried out foreign exchange market interventions

rtgs systems. for example, retail payments are increasingly being settled via rtgs systems ( something which for a long time was unique to switzerland ), longer operating times are being introduced and settlement times are being shortened. these are major international trends, and we in switzerland will have to think about how we wish to position ourselves. there is also the question of how to integrate the new players – the fintechs – into the payments infrastructure. in the next slide, the payments ecosystem in our two - tier financial system is presented in a simplified form. on the first level, via the rtgs ( blue field ), the central bank enables financial institutions to settle payments using secure systems and electronic central bank money. on the second level ( green field ), the financial institutions enable retail payments. when it comes to integrating new players, there are currently two models : first, indirect access via the banks. this ‘ open access ’ approach, shown on the left - hand side of the slide under ‘ model 1 ’ ( client – > fintech – > bank ), is the one adopted by the eu. the new payment services directive ( psd2 ) requires eu banks to grant fintechs access to bank accounts. the second option involves granting fintechs direct access to core payment systems. this ‘ direct access ’ approach is shown on the right - hand side of the slide under ‘ model 2 ’ ( fintech – > rtgs ). switzerland has chosen this approach. as the snb announced at the beginning of this year, it will grant fintech companies access to the sic system and to snb sight deposit accounts, provided they have a fintech licence and their business model makes them significant participants in the area of payment transactions. the advantage of the direct access model is that it also allows retail payments made using page 7 / 9 payment solutions from new providers to be settled efficiently and securely in central bank money. this change creates a level playing field within the sic system for existing and new providers – ensuring that the swiss franc payment system remains efficient, secure and futureproof. the third challenge concerns the possible application of dlt to payment transactions. switzerland, in particular, has witnessed the establishment of a fintech ecosystem in recent years, and we are a leading fintech hub. for central banks, dlt raises at least two fundamental questions. first, could it end up replacing current core infrastructure, such as rtgs? various central banks have been experimenting with this idea, in close