stability board ( fsb ) recommended strengthening the existing global interest rate benchmarks, in particular the libor. it also called for the development of alternative benchmark rates. the snb is taking an active part in these reform efforts. it is represented on the relevant committees and plays a supportive role by participating in discussions with market participants, as well as with swiss and foreign authorities. reforms have been implemented at international level, particularly as far as the libor is concerned. they focus on standardising the interest rate calculation by the panel banks and making it more transaction - based. however, volume in the market segment underlying the libor remains low. at national level, the main emphasis is on the replacement of the tois fixing. 1 the tois fixing is a panel - based reference interest rate for the unsecured call money market and is used 1 tois stands for tomorrow / next overnight indexed swap. page 3 / 7 berne, 15 december 2016 andrea m. maechler news conference for interest rate derivatives. despite extensive reform efforts, no stable long - term solution has been found. underlying trading volume continues to be very low and other banks are unwilling to report interest rate conditions. for this reason, the tois fixing will be abandoned as of end - 2017. saron, the reference interest rate for secured call money, will be used in its place. saron was launched by the snb in cooperation with six in 2009. we are confident that it will establish itself as a key swiss franc reference rate. further work will be coordinated by a working group comprising financial sector representatives. key information on this topic is publicly available on the snb ’ s website. 2 2 http : / / www. snb. ch / en / ifor / finmkt / fnmkt _ benchm / id / finmkt _ reformrates page 4 / 7 berne, 15 december 2016 andrea m. maechler news conference slides page 5 / 7 berne, 15 december 2016 andrea m. maechler news conference page 6 / 7 berne, 15 december 2016 andrea m. maechler news conference page 7 / 7

compared with around 95 % at the end of june. the global rise in yields has led to a reduction in the share of negative - yielding government bonds worldwide from over 30 % at the end of june to around 20 % most recently. although this trend can be seen as a step towards normalisation on the bond markets, it is important to recognise that higher us yields and the associated appreciation of the us dollar could become a burden for some emerging economies. on the foreign exchange market, the swiss franc came under increased upward pressure for a brief period after the brexit vote. this pressure abated again, not least due to the swiss national bank ’ s willingness to intervene on the market. while the pound sterling continued to lose value over the summer months, other key currencies, including the swiss franc, moved sideways within a narrow range ( cf. chart 3 ). heightened uncertainty in the run - up to the us presidential election was once again reflected in growing demand for safe - haven currencies on the foreign exchange market, leading to slightly higher swiss franc exchange rates. following the us election, the us dollar appreciated on a broad basis. the strengthening of the currency occurred against the backdrop of the rise in us interest rates mentioned earlier. the dollar gained approximately 3 % in trade - weighted terms after the election. the recent developments in the us also had an impact on other currency areas. currencies in emerging economies in particular came under pressure and, as a group, weakened by around 4 % against the us dollar. on a trade - weighted basis, the swiss franc has changed little from its end - june level. nevertheless, swiss franc exchange rates moved in different directions. while appreciating more sharply against the yen than against the euro and pound sterling, the swiss franc weakened against the us dollar and currencies of commodity - exporting countries. overall, the swiss franc is still significantly overvalued. the market environment remains challenging and fraught with global economic and political risks. the snb therefore continues to monitor events on the foreign exchange markets very closely. impact of negative interest on the money and capital markets let me now turn to the impact of negative interest on sight deposits at the snb on the swiss franc money and capital markets. as you know, since the introduction of the negative interest rate in january 2015, key money market rates such as the three - month libor have hovered, as intended, around – 0.