Speech  Embargo 5 April 2018, 6.00 pm  The financial markets in changing times Changes today and tomorrow: the digital future Money Market Event  Andréa M. Maechler Member of the Governing Board * Swiss National Bank Zurich, 5 April 2018 © Swiss National Bank, Zurich, 2018 (speech given in German)  *  The speaker would like to thank Nino Landerer, Andreas Wehrli, Carolin Reiss and Claudia Aebersold Szalay for their support in drafting this speech, and her thanks also go to Giuseppe D’Alelio, Rita Fleer, Adriel Jost, Sébastien Kraenzlin, Susanne Mühlemann, Nicolas Stoffels and SNB Language Services. Page 1/8  Ladies and Gentlemen In his speech, my colleague Dewet Moser has demonstrated how being open to innovations can pay off. However, he also underscores the point that it is entirely appropriate to carefully examine their purpose and the benefits they offer. I would now like to apply this scrutiny to the fintech innovations that are currently attracting a great deal of attention among the general public and in the financial industry. Bitcoin is one of the most talked-about topics at present, and the hype that has built up around cryptocurrencies in general is considerable. It is estimated that well over 1,000 of these currencies are in circulation today. If you search the internet for the word ‘bitcoin’ you will find more than 300 million entries. By contrast, the term ‘Swiss franc’ generates just over 30 million hits.
There are several potential measures which could dampen overall indebtedness in the economy, and prevent certain household groups from getting further into debt, for example in the form of changes to mortgage tax relief and loan-limiting measures. I have described several of them today. But also allow me to point out once again that it is vitally important that the mandate for macroprudential policy be clarified. This is a precondition for being able to introduce to the loan-limiting measures. 22  See Guibourg, G. and Lagerwall, B., “How is the economy affected by macroprudential policy measures?”, Economic Commentary no. 9, 2015, Sveriges Riksbank. 23  See http://www.riksbank.se/en/Press-and-published/Notices/2015/The-Riksbank-publishes-the-IMFsstatement-on-Swedens-economy/. 18  BIS central bankers’ speeches  It is essential for the Riksbank to reduce these risks in order to fulfil its main tasks in terms of price stability and financial stability. However, avoiding problems on the housing market and a future economic crisis is something which concerns us all. BIS central bankers’ speeches  19