SNB's Jordan: negative interest is necessary and appropriate for Switzerland

Speaking from the University of Basel, Swiss National Bank's Thomas Chairman Jordan stated that negative interest rates are appropriate for now. He also adds that Swiss inflation should "re-enter" positive territory in coming quarters.

More headlines (via Reuters):

• Says demand for cash has not yet risen substantially in Switzerland so effective lower bound for interest rates not yet reached but we know it exists
• Despite policy challenges and potential side-effects, swiss negative interest rate is currently indispensable given significant overvaluation of franc and globally low interest rates
• SNB takes concerns about impact of negative interest rates very seriously
• The longer the low interest rate environment persists, the greater the risk that distortions in the banking system will arise
• Says structural reforms, adjustments in real economies can create conditions for a sustained recovery and thus normalisation of monetary policy
• Exemption thresholds give banks freedom to decide whether and to what extent they should pass on negative interest rates to customers
• Challenges facing pension funds not caused first and foremost by monetary policy, but rather achieving fixed returns set when equilibrium interest rate was higher
• Pace of growth on swiss real estate and mortgage markets has slackened somewhat, but mortgages continue to grow faster than GDP so SNB monitors situation continuously
• Swiss inflation should re-enter positive territory in the coming quarters