| The Bank Council of the Swiss National Bank oversees the Bank's management. Of the 11 members of the Bank Council, 5 are elected by the
General Meeting and 6 by the Federal Council.
The Federal Law on Banks and Savings Banks ("Banking Law" for short) forms the statutory basis for the exercise and supervision of banking in Switzerland. It covers, among other areas, authorisation for the conduct of business, the transaction of business, liquidity (minimum
reserves), equity capital and accounting.
This is made up of all the banks and the central bank of a given country (money supply).
The Bank for International Settlements, which is based in Basel, commenced operations in 1930. It promotes cooperation between the central banks, for which it conducts various types of banking transactions. The BIS is also home to some important international committees dealing with specific central banking and other banking issues. The meetings of central bank governors at the BIS provide a forum for the regular exchange of ideas on the international economic situation and on domestic and external monetary policy.
Sum of all banknotes issued by a central bank and in circulation at a given time.
Banks are institutions which accept savings from the public and grant loans (money creation). In addition to this role as intermediary between savers and borrowers, commercial banks - plus the postal administration and the central banks - perform an important function in cashless payments. They also provide services in the area of financing and investment.
Credit balances which the banks have on their sight deposit accounts at the National Bank. These balances form a major part of the liquidity of the banking system and are traded on the money market. The National Bank influences the level of the credit balances by changing the rate of interest at which it lends to the banks (monetary policy instruments).
The business cycle reflects changes in the general economic situation. If the cycle is on an upturn, growth is in line with the available productive capacity in the economy. Economic overheating describes a situation in which the economy is growing fast and leading to production bottlenecks and inflation. In a cyclical downturn (recession), output declines and capacity in the economy is generally under-utilised. Unemployment rises and there is a risk of deflation.
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