The central banker's absence came at a critical time for the Swiss national bank. Now Thomas Jordan is back in time for this week’s interest rate decision.
Thomas Jordan is back after undergoing heart surgery last month, the Swiss national bank (SNB) announced Tuesday. The SNB chair will take over Thursday’s Swiss monetary policy assessment meeting, where it is expected that the national bank will stick to its negative interest rate of -0.75 percent.
Mounting Pressure
During Jordan's absence pressure has grown to change the status quo. Last month’s inflation climbed to the highest level this year, up 0.9 percent on the previous year. The SNB could counteract with an interest rate hike, but observers say it is unlikely to jump ahead of the Federal Reserve Bank, which could mean having to wait till 2023.
Criticism From Within
Last month, academic Dirk Niepelt called for the SNB to review its strategy due to the increasingly complex world it faces. «…a strategy re-evaluation in and outside of the SNB would make sense. This should include in monetary policy terms the inflationary target band, how central the interest rate instrument is, and communication,» in Swiss daily «Neue Zuercher Zeitung» (behind paywall, in German).
