National bank sees limited leeway in crisis
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) says central banks have only limited room for manoeuvre to lessen the impact of the global financial crisis.
One of the bank’s vice-presidents, Philipp Hildebrand, said in an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that rising energy, commodity and food prices might endanger long-term price stability.
Hildebrand said the lessons from the credit crunch should be taken at a regulatory level, rejecting objections by the country’s leading banks.
They had argued tighter regulations could lead to job losses and a drop in revenue.
Hildebrand added that there were glimmers of hope especially on the United States mortgage market where the credit crunch originated.
But he warned against an end to the crisis anytime soon as turmoil on mortgage markets usually has a deep impact on the real economy.
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