thomas jordan : why a strong education system must be an important concern for the swiss national bank summary of a speech by mr thomas jordan, chairman of the governing board of the swiss national bank, at the opening ceremony of the faculty of economics and management at the university of lucerne, lucerne, 6 september 2016. * * * the complete speech can be found in german on the swiss national bank ’ s website ( http : / / www. snb. ch / ). a strong education system is a cornerstone for a country ’ s prosperity. switzerland has a federally structured, flexible, high - quality education system. it stands out for its focus on the goal of employability, which is particularly reflected in the dual vocational training system that is closely aligned to the real needs of companies. the education system contributes to an innovative, flexible and robust swiss economy which – given structural and technological changes – can continue to be successful in future. the labour market would not work nearly as well without solid education, and the culture of stability would be less well - anchored in society. these strengths allow the swiss national bank ( snb ) to conduct a monetary policy geared toward long - term stability. attractive universities are an important component of a good education system. the snb maintains an intensive exchange of information and ideas with academia, with the focus on topics relevant to central bank policy. for it can only fulfil its mandate optimally if the relevant research results flow adequately into the decision - making process. in addition, the snb recruits and employs many economists itself. maintaining close ties with the universities is a necessary prerequisite for snb economists to remain on top of the latest economic knowledge and for the snb to be an attractive employer. however, the snb also considers itself a provider of research and teaching services. to the extent possible, it publishes its own research results and also makes available other economic expertise, e. g. in the area of statistics. an academic education is a privilege for which society justifiably expects something in return. for graduates, this presupposes an especially large commitment to making a contribution to switzerland ’ s prosperity and success. the snb also would like universities to make concrete and useful suggestions for swiss economic policy, e. g. with regard to the pension system and healthcare. this is because convincing solutions in these areas make it possible for monetary policy to continue to take full effect. in addition to the economic function, the strong education system also has

tides, cities and countries as international financial centers rise and fall. for the most part, this rise and fall seems to reflect dynamic criteria such as transportation infrastructure, political stability and regulatory patterns. 1 since the 1970s, the competition amongst international financial centers has of course become genuinely global with diverse places such as luxembourg, singapore, hong kong, dubai and, most recently, shanghai joining the race. switzerland has good reasons to be confident about its ability to defend its status. most importantly, it sets out from a position of strength. particularly in the area of wealth management which comprises over half of the total added value of the banks, switzerland is clearly one of the world ’ s leading provider of services. the value of total assets managed in customer accounts in domestic banks as of the end of the year 2003 amounts to chf 3 ’ 300 billion, of which nearly 60 % is held by foreigners. according to various estimates, this corresponds to approximately one third of the world ’ s total private wealth managed abroad. much has been said and written about the various strengths of the swiss financial center which account for the dominant global position in wealth management. political, economic and monetary stability, know - how, traditional high quality of services provided, guaranteed protection of privacy and strict conditions ensuring the prevention of abuse are all key ingredients to switzerland ’ s past and future success. in the current global market place, some of these strengths represent structural competitive advantages. the swiss authorities and the swiss financial sector representatives rightly charles p kindleberger ( 1974 ) : “ the formation of financial centers : a study in comparative economic history ”, princeton studies in international finance, no 36, princeton : princeton university, november. make great efforts to defend these structural competitive advantages as much as other sovereign countries defend theirs. nonetheless, in a fierce global competitive environment, defense is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for sustained success. the offensive component of a comprehensive swiss strategy must be an unequivocal commitment from politicians, regulators and financial sector representatives to competition and free markets. such a commitment will foster innovation which will ensure the long - term viability of switzerland as a leading global financial center. a commitment to competition includes a firm commitment to an effective regulatory system based on transparency, proportionality, predictability and an uncompromising fight against abuse. such a regulatory framework does not stand in opposition to a commitment to free markets. to the contrary, it strengthens free markets by upholding the integrity of markets. regulatory authorities must not loose sight