Vice-Chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) Martin Schlegel attends a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File photo Acquire Licensing Rights
ZURICH, Sept 21 (Reuters) – The Swiss National Bank will provide funds secured against mortgages to all commercial banks, expanding liquidity provision to the sector, Vice Chairman Martin Schlegel said on Thursday.
To take advantage of the support, which had previously only been available to systemically important banks, lenders must be able to transfer the mortgages to the central bank.
“No matter their size, banks can find themselves in a situation where they need significant liquidity quickly,” said Schlegel, citing risks, such as general uncertainty in the banking sector or cyber attacks on individual lenders.
The greater the number of banks that take the preparatory steps necessary to use the new possibility of obtaining liquidity, the greater will be the central bank’s room for manoeuvre in time of need, Schlegel said.
The SNB said it expected banks involved in mortgage lending to take part in the initiative, which it sees as providing broad-based support to financial stability and the resilience of the banking system.
Reporting by Noele Illien
Editing by Tomasz Janowski
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