Swiss National Bank Chairman cannot rule out further interest rate cuts

Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan cannot rule out a further sinking of Swiss interest rates, he said in an interview on Wednesday, although such a step was not currently needed. "We can't rule it out," Jordan said told Swiss newspaper Blick when asked whether the SNB's -0.75% interest rate - one of the lowest in the world - could be lowered further.

"But we carry out a very precise cost-benefit analysis and we would never simply cut the interest rates if that brought no benefit. At the moment, however, a further reduction is not necessary." Negative interest rates have become increasingly controversial in Switzerland, with banks criticising the measure saying it punished savers and risked producing asset bubbles.