Over recent years, the central banks of several countries have set short-term interest rates below zero. In some cases, even long-term market interest rates have become negative. It does not, therefore, come as a surprise that negative interest rates have become a focal point of discussion and are increasingly being questioned. In Switzerland—currently the country with the lowest negative interest rates—the debate about the past, present, and future of this phenomenon and its impact on the overall economy is especially active. Similar discussions are taking place in the euro area with respect to the policy of the European Central Bank (ECB). Even the US president tweeted, in September 2019, that the Federal Reserve should lower interest rates "to ZERO, or less," for the US to refinance its debt.

The SNB regularly explains the fundamental economic reasons for negative interest rates and why they could stay negative for some time to come. Nevertheless, the current situation is of increasing concern to a growing number of critical observers. The discussion centers around the fundamental question of whether the benefits of the current policy still outweigh the costs (including low returns on savings, asset inflation, incentives for risk-taking, and the financial situation of pension funds). It is clear that ultimately the SNB’s monetary policy influences the entire Swiss economy—and thus the Swiss population as a whole. But could the SNB really avoid negative interest rates?

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