standard today, as a result of this commitment to quality. this means that the snb is not under any pressure to roll out a new banknote series quickly. the new series must meet very high security, quality and technical production standards – and will have to do so for at least 15 years after its first release. so it is worth taking the time to ensure that the new security features, which are complex, technologically innovative and have never before been applied to banknote design, can also stand up to the rigours of industrial production processes. a number of tests are currently being carried out. the first denomination in the new series – the 50 - franc note – will not be issued until 2015 at the earliest. we will announce the exact issue date as soon as production of the first banknote denomination has been completed. bis central bankers ’ speeches

high savings rates in the emerging markets – particularly in china – have probably also contributed to the generally low level of interest rates. while 2004 was characterised by a steady and uniform decline in credit risk premiums in the different debtor categories, the past six months saw a less even trend in the credit risk premiums of individual bonds. in the corporate bonds area, the market ’ s attention focused on the two major us automakers. their downgrading to junk bond status sent a small shockwave through the relevant market segments ; other segments have so far remained largely unaffected, however. the credit risk premiums of other corporate debtors rose only slightly and have remained at a historically low level ( cf. graph 2 ). meanwhile, those of emerging markets have developed in line with the economic fundamentals of their respective countries. 2. investment policy a large proportion of the snb ’ s assets comprise currency reserves. an internationally accepted means of payment in crisis situations, they serve as a safety net for the swiss economy and the swiss franc. in order to fulfil this function, these reserves need to be invested in foreign currencies – primarily in the reserve currencies such as the dollar and euro – and in gold. the bank ’ s leeway for investment was extended considerably with the entry into force of the new national bank act in may 2004. this has allowed the snb to invest part of its currency reserves in foreign equities and corporate bonds. in mid - february 2005, the snb – having already invested in corporate bonds since june 2004 – turned its attention to the expansion of its equity portfolios. at present, a little over chf 3 billion are invested in internationally diversified equity portfolios. as the equities are index - managed by external asset managers, the snb takes no active decisions regarding the weighting of individual sectors or securities. in principle, the national bank does not invest in swiss equities and corporate bonds, thus avoiding, from the outset, any potential conflicts of interest which could jeopardise the snb ’ s independence. as a shareholder in swiss companies, the bank would risk being confronted with structural issues. it could also lead to a conflict between its monetary policy and investment policy goals if an interest rate hike by the snb were to erode the domestic companies ’ profits. furthermore, such a move could have an adverse effect on prices should the snb have to liquidate securities of swiss businesses at short notice. and