SNB Pledges to Avoid Franc Manipulation in Joint Release With US

This content was published on September 29, 2025 - 14:57

2 minutes

(Bloomberg) — Switzerland and the US issued a joint statement vowing to not manipulate currencies, with the Swiss National Bank pledging to keep its monetary policy focused on price stability.

The document published on Monday follows consultations with the Swiss central bank and finance ministry as part of a dialog between the sides that has been in place since 2022.

“The United States and Switzerland reconfirmed they have undertaken under the IMF Articles of Agreement to avoid manipulating exchange rates or the international monetary system to prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or to gain an unfair competitive advantage,” they said in the joint statement.

Since June, Switzerland has been on a watch list of economies monitored by the Treasury for its foreign exchange policies. A spokesperson in Bern insisted at the time that the two countries were in a “constructive dialog,” though that was before the US slapped a 39% tariff on Swiss exports.

Switzerland found itself branded as a currency manipulator during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. The SNB previously deployed large-scale interventions to cap the strength of the franc, though it has since appeared to take a more judicious approach on such activity.

“The Swiss National Bank reconfirmed its commitment that its monetary policy will remain oriented towards maintaining appropriate monetary conditions to safeguard price stability and will not target exchange rates for competitive purposes,” the statement said.

The central bank said in a separate press release that the declaration is not legally binding and confirms existing practice.

In their joint statement, the two sides acknowledged “a shared view that intervention in foreign exchange markets is considered as a tool equally appropriate for addressing excessively volatile or disorderly depreciation or appreciation.”

Even so, they agreed that “any macroprudential or capital flow measures should not target exchange rates for competitive purposes,” and that any federal government entity — such as pension funds that invest abroad — shouldn’t do so either.