SNB Observatory report on the SNB's FX intervention policy

2024-40

Earlier this week, the SNB Observatory released a report on the SNB’s FX intervention policy. The Observatory was established in 2021 by Yvan Lengwiler, with Charles Wyplosz and me as collaborators.

While the SNB has intervened heavily in the FX market since the start of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, it did not view these interventions as a monetary policy tool. That changed in 2022 when the SNB released in its Accountability Report for 2022 (pp. 24-28) the conclusions of an internal review it had undertaken of its policy strategy. The review makes clear that FX interventions are now seen as an additional policy tool.

Our report reviews several questions that arise as a result of the change in the framework. It can be found here.