The Swiss National Bank (SNB) sets its policy rate at four assessments a year, in March, June, September and December. Its aim: to ensure price stability in Switzerland while taking economic developments into account. Together with the franc exchange rate, the policy rate acts on monetary conditions. It weighs on lending, savings and exporters, but other forces are also at play, such as the capital markets.

What is the SNB policy rate?

The SNB uses the policy rate to steer the level of interest rates in Switzerland. Its strategy, applied since 2000, describes a monetary policy that works through interest rates and through the franc exchange rate.

In practice, the sight deposits that banks hold at the SNB are remunerated at the policy rate up to a certain threshold. Above it, a discount applies. At its decision of 24 September 2026, this discount remained set at 0.25 percentage points. The press release did not specify the level of the threshold.

The National Bank’s recent decisions are covered in our SNB and rates section.

What is the mandate of the Swiss National Bank?

The Federal Constitution entrusts the SNB, an independent central bank, with conducting a monetary policy that serves the interests of the country as a whole. Its mandate is to ensure price stability while taking due account of economic developments.

The SNB’s strategy rests on three elements:

  • a definition of price stability, which specifies the mandate;
  • a conditional inflation forecast, the main indicator and central communication tool;
  • a description of implementation, through interest rates and the franc exchange rate.

The SNB considers tightening its policy if inflation threatens to exceed 2% on a lasting basis. It considers easing it if inflation threatens to remain too low on a lasting basis. Raiffeisen economists speak of a target range of 0 to 2%.

How does the SNB decide on its rate?

The SNB Governing Board takes a monetary policy decision every quarter, or more often if necessary. Each decision follows an in-depth assessment of the economic and monetary situation, in March, June, September and December.

Communication follows a fixed ritual:

  • a press release explaining the decision;
  • a press conference by members of the Governing Board;
  • the Monetary Policy Report, published in the Quarterly Bulletin;
  • since September 2025, a summary of the deliberations, published four weeks after each decision.

The Quarterly Bulletin also reports on the talks that the SNB’s delegates for regional economic relations hold with company managers.

The SNB archives its decisions year by year, from 2000 to 2026, on its page dedicated to monetary policy decisions.

What is the conditional inflation forecast for?

The conditional inflation forecast shows how inflation would develop if the policy rate remained unchanged over the following three years. It is “conditional” because it rests on this assumption.

When forecast inflation moves outside the range equated with price stability, an adjustment of monetary policy may become necessary. The forecast published in September 2026, assuming a policy rate of 0%, gave the following:

YearForecast average annual inflation (September 2026)
20260.7%
20270.8%
20280.8%

According to the SNB, this forecast remained within the range of price stability over the entire horizon. These are forecasts, subject to revision at each assessment.

Why does the SNB intervene on the franc?

The franc exchange rate is one of the SNB’s levers, just like interest rates. On 24 September 2026, it said it was prepared to intervene in the foreign exchange market if necessary, in order to ensure appropriate monetary conditions.

The franc also influences inflation. In September 2026, the SNB attributed a slightly higher medium-term inflation forecast notably to the weakening of the franc. It also judged that this recent depreciation was supporting growth.

The franc is often regarded as a safe haven. When doubts about the euro area intensify, increased demand for francs can push the EUR/CHF rate down. This link is by no means automatic: interest rate differentials and central bank decisions also play a part. On 21 October 2026, the SNB showed a rate of 0.9253 francs per euro and 0.8245 francs per dollar.

What effects on SARON and fixed-rate mortgages?

The policy rate is only one of the factors that determine the price of a mortgage. On 20 October 2026, SARON, the Swiss money market reference rate shown by the SNB, stood at −0.05%, for a policy rate of 0%. Our sources do not detail how banks set their margins on SARON-linked mortgages.

Fixed-rate mortgages also depend on the capital markets. In the third quarter of 2026, they became more expensive while the SNB kept its policy rate at 0%. According to Comparis indicative rates, an average of around thirty banks, the following were recorded at the end of September 2026:

  • 1.75% over three years, compared with 1.38% three months earlier;
  • 1.9% over five years;
  • 2.07% over ten years, a level not seen since March 2025.

According to a Keystone-SDA dispatch, rising interest rates abroad were feeding through to the Swiss capital market and making bank refinancing more expensive. An indicative rate shows a trend, not the rate a given borrower will obtain.

What does the policy rate change for savings?

Any SNB rate increase would affect both the cost of credit and the return on savings. However, the sources consulted do not quantify any bank savings rate, and the press release of 24 September 2026 says nothing about savings.

Inflation remains a useful benchmark for savers. According to the SNB, it rose from 0.6% in May to 0.8% in August 2026, as the annual change in the Swiss consumer price index. This article does not constitute investment advice.

How do the franc and interest rates affect exporters?

For an exporting company, the most visible effect comes through the exchange rate. An appreciating franc reduces the value, once converted into francs, of sales made in foreign currencies, in euros as well as in dollars.

The Givaudan group illustrated this over the first nine months of 2026. Currency effects weighed by 4%, or 234 million francs, on sales of 5.89 billion. Its growth of 5.2% shrank to 2.6% once expressed in francs.

The SNB also keeps a close eye on industry. In September 2026, it noted below-average capacity utilisation, especially in manufacturing. It cited the recent depreciation of the franc among the factors supporting growth.

Example: the decision of 24 September 2026

On 24 September 2026, the SNB kept its policy rate at 0%. It put forward three observations: inflation rising since June, mainly because of energy; inflationary pressure in the medium term barely stronger; a policy deemed appropriate. Our article on the policy rate being held at 0% details this press release.

Notably, goods inflation was positive in August 2026 for the first time since May 2024, according to the SNB. It was mainly due to higher prices for oil products. The SNB forecast growth of 1.5% to 2% for 2026 and around 1.5% for 2027, amid high uncertainty linked to the Middle East.

SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel summed up the choice on Swiss German television, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Thailand: inflation remained contained “in the middle of the 2% range”, which made it possible to leave the policy rate unchanged.

The next assessment is scheduled for 10 December 2026. Raiffeisen economists believe a rate increase could come as early as that date: this is their reading, detailed in our article on the SNB rate increase anticipated by the bank. For financial expert Dirk Renkert, quoted by Keystone-SDA, the SNB should not be “in any particular hurry to raise rates” in the short term.

Key figures

  • SNB policy rate: 0.00% as at 21 October 2026.
  • SARON: −0.05% as at 20 October 2026.
  • Discount above the sight deposit threshold: 0.25 percentage points (September 2026).
  • Annual inflation: 0.6% in May and 0.8% in August 2026.
  • Inflation forecast by the SNB (September 2026): 0.7% in 2026, 0.8% in 2027 and in 2028.
  • Ten-year fixed-rate mortgage: 2.07% at the end of September 2026 (Comparis indicative rate).
  • Exchange rates on 21 October 2026: 0.9253 francs per euro, 0.8245 francs per dollar.
  • Monetary policy assessments: four a year; the next on 10 December 2026.

What we do not yet know

Several points remain open. The decision of 10 December 2026 is not known: Raiffeisen’s forecast does not bind the SNB. The sources consulted do not trace the sequence of decisions taken since 2022; only the September 2026 decision is quantified. Nor do they specify the level of the sight deposit threshold, or how banks pass SARON on to their mortgages and savings accounts.

Sources