– in august 2011 alone, liquidity expansion amounted to chf 170 billion. this measure, however, did not have a sustained effect. finally, in september 2011, the snb introduced a minimum exchange rate of chf 1. 20 per euro as a temporary, exceptional measure ( cf. chart 9 ). the snb was thereby prepared to use its balance sheet to purchase foreign currency in order to stop the spread of panic. while this policy measure corrected the exceptional strength of the swiss franc, the currency remained substantially overvalued. nevertheless, the stabilisation of the euro / swiss franc exchange rate allowed the swiss economy to adjust to the new currency reality. in addition, the inflation outlook, which had worsened due to the strong swiss franc, brightened again. the euro crisis impacted not just the economy in switzerland, but also the economies and exchange rates of the other neighbouring countries under review. they, too, eased their bis central bankers ’ speeches monetary policies. in sweden, from the end of 2011 to the end of 2013, interest rates were lowered in successive steps to 1 % ; between 2010 and 2011, they had been raised to 2 % on the back of robust economic growth. the riksbank was thereby able to slow the economic downturn and simultaneously prevent a further appreciation of the krona and a decline in inflation expectations ( cf. chart 10 ). interest rates in the czech republic touched 0 % at the end of 2012, and the czech national bank ( cnb ) announced its intention to intervene on the foreign exchange market if necessary. at the end of 2013, the cnb intervened to weaken the czech koruna and ease monetary conditions ( cf. chart 11 ). thus, like the snb, the cnb also decided to use the exchange rate as an instrument for easing monetary conditions. the danish krone, explicitly pegged to the euro since the inception of the currency union, also suddenly found itself having to contend with upward pressure. this reflected concerns about the future of the euro, and market assumptions that denmark could become a member of a nordic euro should the euro area split. at the end of 2011, danmarks nationalbank reacted by cutting its reference rate to below that of the ecb, and continued to lower it in successive steps thereafter. at the same time, it intervened on the foreign exchange market. in mid - 2012, when the ecb once again lowered its rates, danmarks nationalbank lowered its deposit rate into negative territory

jean - pierre danthine : signals from the financial markets and developments in the implementation of swiss monetary policy introductory remarks by mr jean - pierre danthine, member of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the half - yearly media news conference, geneva, 17 june 2010. * * * as has been pointed out in the speeches of my two colleagues, reports on the economy are quite positive and indicate a faster economic recovery than anticipated. the signals from the financial markets, however, are less favourable and i will be talking about them in the first part of my remarks. i will devote the second part of my comments today to developments in the implementation of monetary policy over the last few months. these developments result from the unconventional monetary policy measures adopted by the swiss national bank ( snb ) to combat the financial crisis and to ensure price stability in line with its mandate. international financial markets experience an uncertain period the period of calm which prevailed on international markets from spring 2009 onwards gave way to a new phase of uncertainty in the second quarter of 2010. since april 2010, the climate on financial markets has deteriorated again. share prices have fallen, credit risk has risen and instability has increased on the major foreign exchange markets. as philipp hildebrand has already stated, the return of uncertainty chiefly reflects investors ’ doubts about the capacity of certain countries to service their debt. these doubts are reflected in a significant increase in risk premia for sovereign debt in these countries, which has prompted them to establish major cost - cutting programmes. this situation is weighing on financial markets, despite the relatively favourable reports of economic recovery at the global level. indeed, current market uncertainty has reached a high level, although it remains lower than that observed during the recent crisis. to give an example, the vix index ( which measures uncertainty on the equity market ) and the cdx index ( which measures credit risk ) are both rising again. however, they are still significantly lower than at the end of 2008, i. e. at the peak of the subprime crisis ( cf. chart 1 ). the uncertainty associated with the fiscal situation of certain european countries has also triggered another rise in tension on the interbank market for us dollars. to counter this, several central banks, including the snb, have reactivated swap facilities in cooperation with the federal reserve in order to provide dollar liquidity that may be required for the smooth functioning of the markets. in switzerland, the interbank market has remained calm. indeed, the ample