SNB board member Atillio Zanetti signaled that policymakers are not ruling out a return to negative interest rates if economic conditions warrant it.
“It’s not an obvious step to go into negative rates,” Zanetti said, acknowledging the unconventional nature of such a move, “but I wouldn’t say that we don’t want to do that if that’s necessary.”
He emphasized that while negative rates remain a tool in the SNB’s arsenal, their effectiveness differs from conventional policy. “We are aware that the transmission of monetary policy with negative rates is different than in positive territory.”
