Swiss National Bank keeps ultra-loose policy in place

Gianluca Colla | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A cyclist rides past the Swiss National Bank’s headquarters in Bern, Switzerland.

The Swiss National Bank maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday in a bid to reduce upward pressure on the strong Swiss franc.

The SNB kept its target range for three-month Swiss franc LIBOR at -1.25 percent to -0.25 percent, and the rate it charges on sight deposits at -0.75 percent, as expected in a Reuters poll of economists.

It said it remained committed to negative interest rates and currency market interventions to rein in the Swiss franc, which it said remained “significantly overvalued”.