The Swiss National Bank's monetary policy framework must remain "expansionary" as concerns and uncertainties still lurk in Europe, its chairman explained to CNBC on Thursday.
"The situation in Europe remains more difficult and that's exactly the reason why monetary policy in Europe remains expansionary and that also means that we have to continue maintaining negative interest rates in Switzerland," Thomas Jordan, chairman of the Swiss National Bank, told CNBC Thursday.
Earlier, the Swiss central bank decided to stand pat on its monetary policy, leaving its interest rates unchanged at record-low levels. The SNB left its deposit rate at a negative 0.75 percent on Thursday, as was widely expected.
In the bank's latest statement, the SNB said it would remain active in the foreign exchange market, and that its current expansionary monetary policy is expected to help prop up economic activity and help keep an eye on the Swiss franc.