http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/business/switzerland-central-bank-interest-rate.html 2014-12-18 10:03:48 Swiss Central Bank to Adopt a Negative Interest Rate The Swiss National Bank acted as the crisis in Russia and plummeting oil prices caused a sharp correction of global currencies and financial assets. === PARIS — Switzerland is introducing a negative interest rate on the deposits it holds for lenders, its central bank said on Thursday, moving to hold down the value of the Swiss franc amid the turmoil in global currency markets. A rate of minus 0.25 percent will be levied on bank deposits exceeding a certain threshold, the Swiss National Bank said The bank acted as the crisis in Russia and plummeting oil prices have caused a sharp correction of global currencies and financial assets. Switzerland, praised for its fiscal rectitude and banking secrecy, tends to attract capital inflows as money flees chaos elsewhere. But that puts pressure on the franc, threatening to make exporters less competitive and raising the risk that very low price pressures will tip into outright deflation. “Over the past few days, a number of factors have prompted increased demand for safe investments,” the central bank said. “The introduction of negative interest rates makes it less attractive to hold Swiss franc investments, and thereby supports the minimum exchange rate.” In September 2011, with the eurozone’s The franc was trading at 1.2039 per euro on Thursday morning in Zurich.