Yields on bonds with high credit ratings are also very low in Switzerland. At the beginning of June, ten-year Confederation bonds attained a new all-time low, at around 0.5%. Thirty-year bonds were trading in the market at yields of under 1%. For short to medium-term maturities, yields were in negative territory, in some cases very negative. The low interest rates continue to be reflected in robust growth in lending and rising real estate prices. As a result, the imbalances on the Swiss residential mortgage and real estate markets have increased further. Following my presentation, my colleague Jean-Pierre Danthine will take a closer look at the risks for financial stability in connection with the mortgage and real estate markets. SNB monetary policy Let us now return to the SNB’s monetary policy. The debt problems in some euro area countries have deteriorated seriously over the recent period. Accordingly, the euro has lost value against most countries since May. This has led to increased upward pressure on the EUR/CHF exchange rate. Even in this difficult environment, we have consistently enforced the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro. To defend the minimum exchange rate, we purchased foreign currency. This has led to a further expansion in Swiss franc liquidity and the SNB balance sheet. Even when the minimum exchange rate was first introduced, we drew attention to the fact that its enforcement could have significant consequences for our balance sheet.
Dimitar Radev: Recent achievements in resolving Bulgaria's banking sector issues Address by Mr Dimitar Radev, Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, at a forum of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its foundation, Sofia, 24 May 2017. * * * Dear colleagues, First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of your Association. During this, sometimes turbulent, period the Association proved itself not only as a branch organization supporting its members in their banking business, but also as a reliable and reputable partner to public authorities and institutions, including BNB. We highly appreciate this role. It was also demonstrated in the best of ways in the implementation of the measures in the banking sector after the turmoil in 2014. In the short period after it we went together a long way. As a central bank, we focused on improving supervision and building a reliable institutional framework for resolving banking sector issues. Undoubtedly, however, our most important joint effort was the asset quality review and the stress test conducted last year. An exercise unprecedented in its scale that was a real challenge and a test not only for the central bank, but for our banking system as a whole. Only two days ago, our achievements in the banking sector were a subject of an objective and independent discussion.