Switzerland Lowers Interest Rate by Biggest Step in Almost 10 Years

The Swiss central bank lowered the interest rate by half a percentage point on Thursday. That is the biggest reduction since January 2015.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) wants to support the economy with the lower borrowing costs. The central bank also wants to stay ahead of the expected interest rate cuts from other central banks around the world in order to limit the rise of the Swiss franc.

The Swiss interest rate went down from 1 percent to 0.5 percent.

The interest rate is therefore at the lowest level since November 2022. The interest rate step was higher than economists had expected. They generally expected a reduction of a quarter of a percentage point.