SNB Data: What it Means for Interest Rates
Policy rate at 0%: weekly sight deposits and monthly foreign exchange reserves.
What can Swiss National Bank (SNB) data tell us about monetary policy? Banks’ sight deposits are published regularly, while foreign exchange reserves appear in monthly balance sheet data. A single change does not establish that the SNB intervened in the currency market.
Policy rate at 0%
On 24 September 2026 the SNB kept its policy rate at 0%. It said it remained willing to act in the foreign exchange market if necessary. The discount of 0.25 percentage points applied to some sight deposits is not the policy rate. The SNB’s monetary policy assessment sets out the decision.
Different publication schedules
Weekly sight deposit data offer a view of banking system liquidity. Several factors can change these balances, so a movement alone is not proof of foreign exchange purchases.
According to the SNB, balance sheet items that include foreign exchange reserves are published monthly at the end of the following month. Exchange rates and valuation changes also affect reserve holdings. An increase in reserves therefore does not by itself prove intervention. See the SNB’s explanation of reserve data.
What does it mean for borrowing?
The policy rate affects short-term money market rates. Mortgage offers also depend on term, funding costs and bank pricing. One weekly figure cannot reliably predict the SNB’s next interest rate decision.
Correction, 25 September 2026: An earlier version incorrectly put the policy rate at 0.25% and described foreign exchange reserves as weekly data. The article has been revised using SNB sources.
