The Swiss credit market has proved resilient, and lending volumes have kept growing even after the collapse of Credit Suisse: that is the assessment Martin Schlegel, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), presented to the Federal Council on 11 November 2026. Received together with Barbara Janom Steiner, President of the SNB's Bank Council, at the annual meeting between the government and the central bank, he saw no sign of a credit shortage, according to the Federal Council's press release. The same exchange covered inflation, which rose from 0.6% in May to 1.5% in October 2026, and risks deemed high.
An annual meeting that informs, without deciding anything
The scope of this meeting is precise: the Federal Council receives the two SNB leaders "as it does every year" to discuss the economic situation, monetary policy and financial stability, in the words of the press release of 12 November 2025, issued for the previous edition. It is neither a decision-making session nor a formal consultation. The 2026 edition took place as part of the government's weekly meeting, the AWP news agency reported on Allnews on 11 November 2026.
The policy rate is not set in that room. The SNB's Governing Board decides it alone, at its quarterly monetary policy assessments. The next one is scheduled for 10 December 2026, as explained in our article on the SNB's quarterly assessment. The press release of 11 November 2026 therefore announces no measure: it reports a diagnosis.
Swiss credit market: what the SNB told the government
Three findings on credit emerge from the Federal Council's press release of 11 November 2026. Lending volumes in Switzerland have grown continuously over the past ten years. This growth did not stop after the collapse of Credit Suisse. And the SNB "still sees no sign of a credit shortage".
The word "still" refers back to last year's diagnosis. On 12 November 2025, the Federal Council already noted that "lending continues to increase despite the major upheaval caused by UBS's acquisition of Credit Suisse". One year on, the finding stands. UBS, which took over Credit Suisse in 2023, says for its part that it is on track to complete the integration this year, according to our coverage of UBS's third-quarter results.
The make-up of this market shows what is at stake. In a speech on 13 November 2025, the SNB stated that mortgage loans accounted for more than 85% of total lending volumes in Switzerland and were growing by around 3%, as our page on mortgage rates in Switzerland recalls. In that speech, the SNB explained that the takeover of Credit Suisse had shifted loans towards domestically focused banks, without slowing lending overall.
The government and the SNB also discussed financial intermediaries outside the banking sector, such as investment funds. The SNB describes them as key players in the Swiss financial system, but considers the risks they pose to financial stability to be "currently limited". This topic was already on the agenda of the 2025 meeting, which mentioned pension funds, insurers and investment funds. The SNB published its Financial Stability Report 2026 on 2 July 2026.
Inflation that has more than doubled since May
The second part of the exchange concerned prices. Since the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, inflation in Switzerland has risen from 0.6% in May to 1.5% in October 2026, mainly because of petroleum products, according to the Federal Council's press release. It remains within the 0 to 2% range that the SNB equates with price stability, whereas it exceeds central banks' targets in many countries.
The table places this figure within the series published by the SNB and by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) over the course of the year.
| Month of 2026 | Year-on-year inflation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| May | 0.6% | SNB, press release of 24 September 2026 |
| August | 0.8% | SNB, press release of 24 September 2026 |
| September | 1.0% | FSO, cited in our figures of the week |
| October | 1.5% | Federal Council, press release of 11 November 2026 |
October's rise remains concentrated in energy. According to the FSO, cited in our figures of the week as at 4 November 2026, heating oil rose by 81.4% year on year, whereas inflation excluding fuels and fresh products is limited to 0.5%. In September, the SNB was in fact forecasting inflation to rise in the fourth quarter, then to fall back during 2027 once the energy effect has faded. Its conditional forecast of 24 September 2026, calculated with a policy rate assumed to remain constant at 0%, gave an average of 0.7% for 2026, then 0.8% for 2027 and for 2028.
Growth confirmed, risks maintained
On the economic outlook, the SNB has not changed its scenario. It still expects growth of 1.5% to 2% for Switzerland in 2026, after a particularly strong second quarter, and of around 1.5% for 2027, according to the Federal Council's press release. These figures are those of the assessment of 24 September 2026, at which the SNB kept the SNB policy rate at 0%. Stimulus from abroad, monetary policy and the depreciation of the franc since spring 2026 have supported activity.
The risks are still described as high. The press release cites three: a further rise in energy prices, the trade policy environment and the development of exchange rates. The SNB reminded the government that it is ready, if necessary, to intervene actively in the foreign exchange market to ensure appropriate monetary conditions.
What this changes for an SME or a mortgaged household
For a company that borrows, the SNB's message concerns access to credit, not its price. The absence of a shortage means that banks keep lending; it says nothing about the terms offered on a given application. The cost, for its part, has moved in 2026 despite an unchanged policy rate. As at 30 October 2026, PostFinance, the bank of Swiss Post, displayed an indicative rate from 1.84% for a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage, and fixed-rate mortgages had become more expensive in the third quarter according to Comparis's indicative rates, as our previous articles have shown.
The environment for SMEs remains tense in other respects. The credit insurer Allianz Trade expects around 15,000 corporate bankruptcies in Switzerland in 2026, a record it attributes largely to the new insolvency law, but also to lastingly higher interest rates. An abundant supply of credit does not erase that factor.
For a mortgaged household, the date to watch is 10 December 2026. The SNB will then decide on its policy rate, in the light of inflation that has doubled since the summer. Published opinions diverge: the economists at Raiffeisen and the BAK Economics institute consider a hike possible as early as December, while Migros Bank and ODDO BHF rather expect 2027. These are forecasts that do not bind the SNB. Nothing in the press release of 11 November 2026 prejudges that decision, and this article does not constitute financial advice.
What we do not know yet
- The Federal Council's press release puts no figure on lending volumes in Switzerland or on their growth rate over ten years; it only describes the trend.
- The detailed content of the discussions is not published: the Federal Council summarises the topics, with no minutes and no position of the government's own.
- The direction of the decision of 10 December 2026 on the policy rate, and the new inflation forecast that will accompany it.
Sources
- Federal Council, press release of 11 November 2026 on the meeting with the President of the Bank Council and the Chairman of the Governing Board of the SNB.
- Federal Council, press release of 12 November 2025 on the previous year's meeting.
- Swiss National Bank, monetary policy assessment of 24 September 2026.
- Swiss National Bank, publication of the Financial Stability Report 2026, 2 July 2026.
- Allnews (AWP), Le marché suisse des crédits a résisté à la chute de Credit Suisse, estime Martin Schlegel, 11 November 2026.
- finews.ch, SNB sieht weiterhin keine Anzeichen für eine Kreditklemme, 11 November 2026.
