As you may have guessed though, the main reason for central bank transparency is not to make your weekends more relaxing. Central bankers today pursue a policy of broad information because we believe that transparency helps us fulfil our mandate. We are convinced that monetary policy is most effective and least disruptive if it is predictable: no news on monetary policy is good news. In the following, I would like to discuss why, today, central bankers think transparency is crucial for a successful monetary policy and how the Swiss National Bank attempts to achieve transparency in practice. I shall then debate the limitations of what transparency Finally, I would like to reflect upon how transparency in monetary policy may affect the relationship between you, the journalists, and us, the central bankers. 1. The case for transparency  At the Swiss National Bank we see three main reasons to be transparent about our monetary policy. The first reason is that we count on transparency to enhance the effectiveness of our monetary policy. In the public eye, central banks may be viewed as almighty. The plain reality is, however, that our open market operations only have a direct influence on current short-term interest rates. Economic activity and thus future price developments are, however, determined primarily by the shape of the yield curve, i.e. by the expectation of future monetary actions. Transparency about how we judge future inflationary pressures enables us to guide expectations about future short-term interest rates and thus also long-term interest rates.
Indeed, the current crisis may be the most severe seen since the 1930s. However, caution is warranted when interpreting these developments. Not only are deviations from average historical regularities observed, but the full impact of the recent severe crisis is still uncertain. Third, it is clear that both supply and demand factors have driven credit developments in the euro area so far, as confirmed by the evidence provided by the bank lending survey. Overall, our assessment is that credit developments have thus far been affected more strongly by factors associated with weak macroeconomic conditions, such as lower credit demand and a decrease in the average level of creditworthiness of potential borrowers. However, supplyside factors have also played a role and should not be underestimated. SMEs’ access to finance I will now turn to some more direct evidence on SMEs’ access to finance in the euro area provided by a recent ECB survey. This survey, which was conducted for the first time in June-July 2009, asks firms across the European Union about their financing conditions over the previous six months, meaning broadly the first half of 2009 in this case. This survey should help over time to fill the gap regarding information on the financing conditions of SMEs in the euro area, since quantitative statistics provide very little evidence on the actual situation.