Jean-Pierre Roth: “A franc remains a franc” – 100 years of National Bank policy in support of monetary stability Address by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, at the official ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the Swiss National Bank, Zurich, 22 June 2007. *  *  *  Honoured President of the Swiss Confederation Honoured Prime Minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein Honoured members of the federal parliament Honoured representatives of the cantonal governments Honoured governors of fellow central banks Honoured guests Almost to the day 100 years ago, the Swiss National Bank opened its doors at the head offices in Berne and Zurich and the branch offices in Basel, Geneva and St Gallen. This marked the end of around 16 years of parliamentary work that had followed the acceptance, in 1891, of a constitutional article leading to the establishment of a central note-issuing institution for the whole of Switzerland. This prolonged process can definitely be explained by the fact that our countrymen, at the end of the 19th century, did not see any urgent need for the establishment of a central bank. In fact, the political debates prior to 1907 mainly focused on questions relating to the organisation of the bank and the distribution of its profits; the regulatory role that the new institution was to assume was hardly touched upon.
Our currency was created in 1850, and the coins of that time were in circulation in 1907, when the National Bank started operations. We still use these coins today for our day-to-day payments. This is tangible proof of our country’s monetary stability. “A franc remains a franc,” declared the President of the Swiss Confederation in a radio address one day after the 1936 devaluation, in an endeavour to reassure the Swiss people about the abolition of the gold standard. I am pleased to be able to say today – 100 years after the National Bank started business – that a franc has indeed remained a franc. All this could not have been achieved if our policy did not enjoy broad support in our country. I would therefore like to conclude by expressing sincere thanks; first of all to the federal and cantonal authorities for the support that they have given us, particularly in difficult times when we had to make unpopular decisions for the sake of monetary stability. Second, I would like to thank the business community for its understanding of our policy, even at times when we assessed the situation differently or when monetary constraints necessitated painful adjustments. And, finally, my thanks go to the Swiss people for their unwavering confidence in our institution and their support for our monetary autonomy over the last 100 years. BIS Review 71/2007  3  May the National Bank continue to enjoy such broad support!