SNB - Speech given by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, 30-4-2004

Speech given by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth,

Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank,

at the Bank’s Annual General Meeting on 30 April 2004


Dawn of a new era

"...Ladies and gentlemen, as the President of the Bank Council indicated earlier on, the National Bank is at an historic turning point today. As of tomorrow, our institution will be governed by new legislation. The new National Bank Act will enter into force in less than 24 hours. Our operational framework, our range of instruments, our organisation and our duty of notification will all be affected. Likewise, our mandate will be – perhaps not modified – but at least made more explicit. Article 5 of the new Act stipulates that “The National Bank shall pursue a monetary policy serving the interests of the country as a whole. It shall ensure price stability. In so doing, it shall take due account of the development of the economy”.
The objective of price stability is not new. In fact, the National Bank has always been guided by this goal in its activities. The desire to guarantee the purchasing power of our  currency underpinned the link established in the past between the franc and gold, and it was this same concern that led Switzerland, in 1973, to abandon the fixed exchange rates of the post-war period, which were undermined by widespread lack of discipline. The objective of price stability is now inscribed in law, which reinforces its legitimacy. Our monetary system is thus now as clearly defined as it used to be under the gold standard. We define price stability as an annual rate of inflation of less than 2%. We were able to maintain such stability in the course of the past year, and I am pleased to note that this objective has been reached in each of the past ten years – an unparalleled achievement internationally. It is a modest, but highly important, contribution to the prosperity of our country. Our history has shown that inflation – or deflation – can have damaging effects that often cause suffering to the most vulnerable members of our society.
One of Switzerland’s traditional values is this concern for price stability. It is a significant achievement that the National Bank will endeavour to preserve in the years to come..."


Source: http://www.snb.ch/en/mmr/speeches/id/ref_20040430_jpr/source/ref_20040430_jpr.en.pdf