The Swiss National Bank (SNB) wants to continue to prevent the franc from appreciating with negative interest rates. “We are firmly convinced that the negative interest rate is still necessary,” said SNB Vice President Fritz Zurbrügg Sunday newspaper. “If we were to raise interest rates now, the franc would appreciate significantly, economic growth would decline and unemployment would rise.” Targeted measures are currently more efficient to avert risks caused by overheating of the real estate market, for example. The SNB classifies the rise in inflation in Switzerland as temporary, and inflation will remain low in the medium term