Switzerland's central bank imposes negative interest ratesDecember 18, 2014 - 14:26 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Switzerland's central bank has imposed negative interest rates on commercial bank deposits, with the aim of preventing the Swiss franc from gaining more strength against other currencies. The move forces commercial banks to pay to deposit their francs with the Swiss National Bank. In a statement Thursday, Dec 18, the central bank said it was introducing a rate of minus 0.25 percent on sight deposit account balances of more than 10 million Swiss francs ($12.5 million). It said the "introduction of negative interest rates makes it less attractive to hold Swiss franc investments, and thereby supports the minimum exchange rate." Since 2011, the SNB has set the minimum exchange rate of the euro at 1.20 Swiss francs, helping sharply raise the value of major currencies like the dollar against the franc. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |