therefore continue. growth in the m1, m2 and m3 monetary aggregates has been perceptibly weaker since summer ; this is primarily attributable to the rise in long - term interest rates. liquidity held by households and companies has nevertheless remained high. in the past, a sustained high level of liquidity generally pointed to inflation risks. as a result of the financial crisis, however, this correlation cannot currently be made. thus, in recent years, the inflation rate has remained exceptionally low despite a high level of liquidity. at present, there are no signs of a rise in inflation in switzerland. our inflation forecast shows no risk of inflation whatsoever. in addition, surveys on inflation expectations reveal values that are consistent with our definition of price stability. this applies not only to short - term inflation expectations, but also to long - term horizons of up to ten years. furthermore, production capacity in switzerland is still underutilised, which also makes a rapid rise in inflation unlikely. snb monetary policy in conclusion, i would like to look at the snb ’ s monetary policy. overall economic conditions have hardly changed since summer. consequently, monetary policy remains a challenge for the snb. up to now, our economy has performed relatively well, considering the difficult international environment. and we have not had to enforce the minimum exchange rate with foreign currency purchases since september 2012. financial markets expect short - term interest rates to stay very low worldwide for some time to come. furthermore, developments in the global economy are likely to remain uncertain. in this environment, the minimum exchange rate continues to be essential in ensuring appropriate monetary conditions in switzerland. the guiding principle for our decisions is the snb ’ s mandate to ensure price stability while taking due account of the development of the economy. the financial crisis also showed us, however, that price stability alone is not sufficient to ensure that the financial sector remains stable. in this connection, the situation on mortgage and real estate markets – which are showing considerable momentum – has been cause for concern for quite some time now. also, mortgage lending is still growing faster than gdp, with the result that aggregate debt is increasing further. the countercyclical capital buffer is a new tool with which the resilience of banks can be strengthened and imbalances on mortgage and real estate markets can be addressed. my colleague, jean - pierre danthine, will now give you our assessment of the risks for financial stability. ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your

interest rate on sight deposits, together with the willingness to intervene on the foreign exchange market as necessary, make it less attractive to hold swiss francs and thereby support a further weakening of the currency. at the same time, the snb continues to monitor carefully the effects of low interest rates on financial stability. bis central bankers ’ speeches charts chart 1 chart 2 bis central bankers ’ speeches chart 3 chart 4 bis central bankers ’ speeches chart 5 chart 6 bis central bankers ’ speeches charts 7a und 7b charts 8a und 8b bis central bankers ’ speeches