SNB’s Jordan Recovering, But May Miss Next Policy Meeting

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Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan is recovering from a medical procedure, but it’s not yet clear if he’ll be participating in this month’s monetary policy meeting, his colleague Andrea Maechler said. 

Maechler, part of the SNB’s rate-setting committee, also said that while consumer-price growth is picking up, there isn’t much risk of an inflation flare up in Switzerland. A new wave of Covid-19 infections remains a risk for the economic outlook, she told newspaper Le Temps. 

“In sum, everything is functioning well, but the uncertainties remain very large,” she said in an interview published Friday. The franc continues to trade at a “high level.”

The SNB’s next monetary policy decision is scheduled for Sept. 23. Officials are likely to keep interest rates unchanged at a record low of -0.75% and reiterate their pledge to use currency market interventions, if needed. 

Jordan’s absence, announced late last month, hasn’t affected the central bank’s operations and the governing board operates collegially, Maechler said. His return date hasn’t been set, and will be based on the advice of his doctors, she said. 

With assets of more than a trillion francs, environmentalists have repeatedly urged the central bank to use some of its financial heft to combat climate change. Maechler once again rejected the suggestion. 

The SNB doesn’t have the mandate to conduct structural policy,” she said. The balance sheet cannot “be seen as the solution for climate change.” 

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