I would thus like to thank BBVA for all its contributions over the years towards achieving this objective which, as I have said, is so important for society and its future. The organisation of this conference testifies to this. It allows us to learn from the experiences of others and, in that way, to better pursue the joint effort of raising citizens’ financial literacy. Thank you. 10  Specifically, pupils were asked to assign € among various present and future consumption options, with three different interest rates (0%, 100% and 150%) and three different time horizons (today as opposed to a week’s time, today as opposed to two weeks, and one week from now as opposed to two weeks from now). In recompense for the different options, USB memories with different capacities were used. In each class, a pupil was randomly selected to obtain, also randomly, one of the options chosen. 8/8
What is more, the Swiss franc has only seen a moderate rise against the euro. As Swiss households and companies are on a solid financial footing, they are shielded – so to speak – against a tightening in credit conditions. Lastly, the stronger Swiss franc vis-à-vis the US dollar has limited the impact of higher commodity prices. Several other factors, like a robust labour market and a competitive industrial sector, could cushion the negative repercussions of the financial crisis in Switzerland. Against this backdrop, the SNB is expecting real GDP to grow between 1.5% and 2% this year. Inflation should be below the 2% mark again in the course of 2008. These forecasts still involve substantial uncertainties. Given the present state of the economy, the current interest level seems to be appropriate. However, the SNB will keep a close eye on further economic developments and inflation so that it is able to identify when action needs to be taken and react in a quick and flexible manner. BIS Review 51/2008  1