SNB Rate Decision September 2026
September 24 @ 3:30 am - 4:30 am
SNB Rate Decision September 2026
Next SNB Rate Decision: Thursday, at 9:30 am CEST (3:30 am ET, 8:30 am London).
- Consensus
- Not yet published
- Prior
- Held at 0% (June 18, 2026)
- Actual
- Pending
Full schedule and background: SNB Rate Decision.
Updated
The Swiss National Bank’s Governing Board announces its next interest rate decision on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at 3:30am ET (8:30am London time, 9:30am CEST local time in Zurich and Bern). The decision follows the Governing Board’s quarterly monetary policy assessment and comes with a published policy statement, updated inflation forecast and a news conference. The SNB’s policy rate has stood at 0% since June 2025. Full schedule and background: SNB Rate Decision hub.
What is the SNB Governing Board and what does it decide?
The Swiss National Bank is Switzerland’s central bank, responsible for setting monetary policy with a legal mandate to ensure price stability while taking due account of economic developments. In practice this means keeping consumer price inflation within a range the SNB judges consistent with price stability, generally close to but not exceeding 2% a year, while avoiding unnecessary damage to growth and employment.
Monetary policy decisions are taken by the three-member Governing Board. As of the most recent assessments, the Board comprises Chairman Martin Schlegel, Vice Chairman Antoine Martin and Member Petra Tschudin. Unlike the US Federal Reserve or the Bank of England, the SNB does not publish individual votes or minutes of debate in the same format; instead it releases a summary of the discussion roughly four weeks after each decision.
The SNB conducts an in-depth monetary policy assessment four times a year, in March, June, September and December. Each assessment produces a rate decision, a medium-term conditional inflation forecast and a press conference where the Chairman explains the reasoning to journalists.
When is the September 2026 SNB decision announced?
The September assessment is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, 2026, with the decision communicated to the public at 9:30am CEST (3:30am ET, 8:30am London). The SNB publishes its policy statement and updated conditional inflation forecast at the same time, followed by a news conference with the Chairman and other Governing Board members. A written summary of the internal discussion is typically released around four weeks after the decision, in this case expected in late October 2026.
What to expect
The SNB has held its policy rate at 0% at every assessment since the June 2025 cut, including the meetings in September 2025, December 2025, March 2026 and June 2026. At the June 2026 assessment, the Governing Board said monetary conditions were appropriate given that medium-term inflationary pressure had remained virtually unchanged since the previous assessment, according to the SNB’s June 2026 press release. Economists and market pricing for the September 2026 meeting were not yet available at the time of writing; a consensus forecast has not yet been published for this specific date.
The table below shows the rate decisions from the SNB’s own published assessments over the past eight quarters.
| Meeting | Decision | Rate after meeting |
|---|---|---|
| June 19, 2025 | Cut 25bp | 0% |
| September 25, 2025 | Held | 0% |
| December 11, 2025 | Held | 0% |
| March 19, 2026 | Held | 0% |
| June 18, 2026 | Held | 0% |
Market impact scenarios
| Scenario | Likely market read | What it means in plain English |
|---|---|---|
| Hold at 0% | Broadly neutral for the Swiss franc, seen as continuity given four consecutive holds | The SNB judges current inflation and growth conditions do not require a change, keeping borrowing costs where they are |
| Cut, potentially into negative territory | Franc likely to weaken; Swiss and eurozone bond yields could edge lower on read-through | The SNB would be signalling concern about weak inflation, a strong franc hurting exporters, or a slowing economy |
| Hawkish guidance shift without a rate move | Franc could firm modestly if the statement flags future tightening risk | Policymakers would be pointing to inflation moving back toward or above their comfort zone without acting immediately |
What will the statement and press conference signal?
Analysts typically focus on three things in the SNB statement: the updated conditional inflation forecast (which shows where the Board expects prices to head assuming rates stay unchanged), any language on the franc’s exchange rate, and whether the Board leaves the door open to further cuts, including a return to negative interest rates, a tool the SNB has used before and referenced again as a possibility in 2025. Because the SNB does not publish a vote breakdown, dissent risk is harder to gauge than at the Fed or the Bank of England; instead, commentators watch changes in wording between one statement and the next for shifts in tone. The Chairman’s press conference remarks, delivered roughly 30 minutes after the written statement, often carry as much market-moving weight as the decision itself.
What It Means for Your Money
For UK and European readers, the SNB decision matters mainly through currency and safe-haven flows. The Swiss franc is widely used as a haven asset, so a surprise rate move can shift EUR/CHF and GBP/CHF rates, affecting the cost of Swiss holidays, imports from Switzerland, and returns on any Swiss franc-denominated savings or bonds held by European investors.
For UK mortgage holders and savers, the SNB decision itself has little direct effect on Bank of England policy, but it is one of several central bank signals that traders use to gauge the global direction of interest rates. A widespread move toward rate cuts by developed-market central banks tends to filter through to lower gilt yields over time, which can eventually feed into fixed mortgage rates and savings account returns, though the Bank of England’s own decisions matter far more.
For eurozone households, Switzerland’s proximity and trade links mean a weaker or stronger franc can change the price of Swiss goods and cross-border shopping, and can influence the European Central Bank’s own thinking about currency stability at the margin. For pension funds and investors holding Swiss equities or bonds, a rate change alters the relative attractiveness of Swiss assets versus eurozone or US alternatives, and can move the value of any unhedged franc exposure in a portfolio.
Related events
- The previous SNB assessment was held on June 18, 2026, when the Governing Board left the policy rate unchanged at 0%.
- The next scheduled SNB assessment after September 2026 falls in December 2026, following the bank’s usual March, June, September, December pattern.
- Swiss consumer price inflation and labour market data released in the weeks before the September assessment typically shape the Governing Board’s updated inflation forecast.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is the SNB September 2026 decision announced?
The decision is communicated at 9:30am CEST on September 24, 2026, which is 3:30am ET and 8:30am London time.
Will the SNB cut interest rates in September 2026?
No consensus forecast had been published for this specific meeting at the time of writing; the SNB has held its rate at 0% at each of its last four assessments.
What is the current SNB policy rate?
The SNB policy rate has stood at 0% since the cut announced on June 19, 2025, and was most recently confirmed unchanged at the June 18, 2026 assessment.
When is the next SNB decision after September 2026?
The SNB’s next scheduled monetary policy assessment falls in December 2026, in line with its usual quarterly cycle of March, June, September and December meetings.
Where can I watch the SNB press conference?
The SNB streams its policy statement and news conference live on its official website, snb.ch, with a recording typically posted shortly afterwards.