SNB rate decision: how the Swiss National Bank moves the franc

The SNB rate decision is the quarterly moment the Swiss National Bank sets the SNB policy rate, the rate that steers short-term borrowing in Swiss francs. It is the biggest scheduled event for the franc, and because the SNB also uses the currency market as a tool, the words about the franc can matter as much as the rate itself.

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By Mike. Explanation updated 2 Oct 2026; the dates and moves below update with the research.

SNB rate decision in short

Next release: Thursday, 10 December 2026At the usual time, see below. The exact moment appears here in the week itself.
Published by: Swiss National Bank
When: Four times a year, in March, June, September and December, on a Thursday at 9:30 in the morning Swiss time. That is 9:30 in Amsterdam as well, all year, because Switzerland and the Netherlands change their clocks on the same days. The news conference follows at 10:00.
Currency: Swiss franc (CHF)
Impact: High: one of the releases that can move the currency on its own
What is decided: The SNB policy rate, which short-term franc rates such as SARON are kept close to
Who decides: The Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank
Mandate: Price stability, which the SNB defines as CPI inflation below 2% a year, without deflation
Comes with: A three-year inflation forecast, a news conference at 10:00, and a summary of the discussion four weeks later

What the SNB rate decision contains

At 9:30 on the Thursday that ends the assessment, the SNB publishes a press release with the new policy rate and the reasons for it. The release also holds the conditional inflation forecast for the next three years.

That forecast assumes the policy rate stays where it was just set. That makes it a signal: if the forecast shows inflation drifting out of the range the SNB calls price stability, the next move is already hinted at.

From 10:00 the members of the Governing Board explain the decision at a news conference, broadcast live on the SNB website. Since September 2025 the SNB also publishes a summary of the discussion four weeks after each decision.

Why the SNB moves the Swiss franc

The SNB steers with two tools: the interest rate and the exchange rate. In its own words, monetary conditions are set by the rate level and by exchange rates, and it may buy and sell foreign currency to meet its mandate.

The franc is a safe haven. When markets get nervous, money flows into Switzerland and pushes the franc up, which makes imports cheaper and drags Swiss inflation down. That is why the SNB has fought a strong franc with low rates, with negative rates from December 2014, and with purchases of foreign currency.

Each decision therefore comes with a line on the currency market, such as a willingness to be active there as necessary. A change in that sentence can move the franc as much as a change in the rate.

How to read an SNB decision

Start with what the market had priced the day before. With only four scheduled meetings a year, each one has three months of news to absorb, more than at central banks that meet eight times.

Then compare the new inflation forecast with the last one. A forecast that falls further below 2% points to an easier SNB, while inflation threatening to stay above 2% points to tightening, as the SNB itself sets out in its strategy.

The SNB can also act between meetings. It ended its minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs per euro in January 2015, outside the quarterly schedule, so a scheduled date is not the only day the bank can move the franc.

What the Swiss franc did on the last release days

Measured on our own prices: the Swiss franc against the basket of the eight majors, from the London opening before the release to the one after it, so the release sits inside the window. Anything else that came out between those two openings is in it too, so a day with more news says less about this release alone.

Release	Amsterdam	Measured	CHF vs basket
24 Sept 2026	09:30	24 Sept to 25 Sept	-0.10%

For scale: on an ordinary day the Swiss franc moves 0.17% against the basket from one London opening to the next, either way, on average over the 250 trading days since 14 Oct 2025.

The forecast, the figure itself and what it changed in our view of the currency are in the app, next to the research.

Questions about the SNB rate decision

What time is the SNB rate decision?

At 9:30 in the morning Swiss time, on a Thursday. That is 9:30 in Amsterdam as well, all year. The news conference starts at 10:00.

How often does the SNB meet?

The SNB holds four scheduled monetary policy assessments a year, in March, June, September and December. It can also change its policy between those dates when it judges that circumstances require it.

What is the SNB's inflation target?

The SNB equates price stability with a rise in the Swiss consumer price index of less than 2% a year. A lasting fall in prices, deflation, also counts as a breach of that goal.

Why does the SNB intervene in the currency market?

Because the exchange rate is part of the monetary conditions it steers. A franc that rises too far pushes down import prices and inflation, so the SNB may buy foreign currency to lean against it, and it can sell foreign currency in the opposite case.

What is the SNB policy rate?

It is the rate the SNB sets at each assessment. The bank aims to keep secured short-term franc money market rates close to it, the most important of which is SARON, the Swiss Average Rate Overnight.