# Swiss National Bank raises rates, says bank crisis stopped Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2023-03-23 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: Swiss National Bank Raises Interest Rate by 50 Basis Points Meta Description: The SNB raised its benchmark interest rate and declared measures to support Credit Suisse have put a halt to the crisis. Additional rate rises cannot be ruled URL: https://financedigest.com/swiss-national-bank-raises-rates-says-bank-crisis-stoppedhtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-03-23t085516z1lynxmpej2m08urtroptp4swiss-snb-rates-1736814268894-compressed.jpg) By John Revill ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss National Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on Thursday and declared that measures to support Credit Suisse had “put a halt to the crisis”. The central bank said that additional rate rises could not be ruled out and that it was willing to be active in the foreign exchange market if necessary. The [measures announced](https://www.financedigest.com/lumen-research-and-tvision-announce-global-partnership-for-advanced-attention-first-measurement-and-media-buying.html "Lumen Research and TVision Announce Global Partnership for Advanced Attention-First Measurement and Media Buying") at the weekend … have put a [halt to the crisis,”](https://www.financedigest.com/analysis-uk-crisis-forces-off-kilter-businesses-to-halt-investment.html "Analysis-UK crisis forces ‘off kilter’ businesses to halt investment") it said in a statement. The SNB is providing large amounts of liquidity assistance in [Swiss francs](https://www.financedigest.com/swiss-franc-grapples-with-safe-haven-identity-crisis-after-credit-suisse.html "Swiss franc grapples with safe-haven identity crisis after Credit Suisse") and foreign currencies. The rates increase was the SNB’s fourth hike in succession as the central [bank maintained its fight against Swiss inflation](https://www.financedigest.com/bank-of-england-still-needs-to-see-the-job-through-on-inflation-pill.html "Bank of England still needs to ‘see the job through’ on inflation: Pill"), which remains stubbornly outside the SNB’s target band of 0%-2%. The growth outlook for the [global economy](https://www.financedigest.com/september-tropical-cyclones-cost-global-economy-more-than-4bn-according-to-aon-catastrophe-report.html "September tropical cyclones cost global economy more than bn, according to Aon catastrophe report") in the coming quarters remains subdued,” said the SNB in a statement. At the same time, [inflation is likely to remain elevated worldwide for the time](https://www.financedigest.com/love-in-a-time-of-inflation-how-much-will-valentines-day-set-you-back.html "Love in a time of inflation: how much will Valentine’s Day set you back?") being. The Swiss move [matched the European Central Bank’s](https://www.financedigest.com/fintech-v-the-banks-uneasy-bedfellows-or-a-match-made-in-heaven.html "FinTech v the Banks: Uneasy Bedfellows or a Match Made in Heaven?") (ECB) 50 basis point increase last week. The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday [raised its main interest rates](https://www.financedigest.com/dollar-falls-after-fed-raises-rates-forecasts-future-hike.html "Dollar falls after Fed raises rates, forecasts future hike") by a quarter of a percentage point, but indicated it was on the verge of pausing further increases. The [Bank of England](https://www.financedigest.com/bank-of-england-fines-former-tsb-executive-over-2018-it-failure.html "Bank of England fines former TSB executive over 2018 IT failure") is expected to increase its interest rate by a quarter percentage point later on Thursday. The Swiss [rate hike was in line with the majority of economist forecasts according to a Reuters poll and showed how tackling inflation – currently running at 3.4% – outweighed its concerns over financial market turmoil](https://www.financedigest.com/central-banks-keep-hiking-rates-amid-banking-turmoil.html "Central banks keep hiking rates amid banking turmoil"). The [central bank](https://www.financedigest.com/central-banks-hike-rates-again-but-a-pause-is-coming.html "Central banks hike rates again, but a pause is coming") also adjusted its economic forecasts. It said it now expected the Swiss [economy to grow](https://www.financedigest.com/euro-zone-economy-faces-growing-risk-of-recession-survey-shows.html "Euro zone economy faces growing risk of recession, survey shows") by 1% this year, adjusting its December forecast for an increase of around 0.5%. [Inflation meanwhile is expected](https://www.financedigest.com/ecb-survey-shows-rising-inflation-expectations-despite-energy-price-falls.html "ECB survey shows rising inflation expectations despite energy price falls") to be 2.6% in 2023, 2% in 2024 and 2025, the SNB said. Without today’s policy rate increase, the [inflation forecast would be even higher over the medium term,” the central bank](https://www.financedigest.com/boes-bailey-says-rate-setters-can-put-inflation-before-bank-worries.html "BoE’s Bailey says rate-setters can put inflation before bank worries") said. Economists expect the SNB to continue hiking [rates as it battles inflation](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-inflation-rate-unexpectedly-rises-to-10-4-in-february.html "UK inflation rate unexpectedly rises to 10.4% in February") in Switzerland. (Writing by John O’Donnell and John Revill; Editing by Paul Carrel) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---