Keeping up the fight against a strong franc

The Swiss National Bank will stress after its meeting on 15th December that it is prepared to act decisively to prevent any significant appreciation of the Swiss franc in the coming months. Indeed, the Bank has already increased its intervention in foreign exchange markets over recent weeks to stem upward pressure related to political developments abroad. But we think that its ammunition will ultimately prove to be limited and doubt that it will prevent at least some appreciation of the franc during 2017.