Swiss National Bank leaves expansionary policy unchanged

• Swiss National Bank maintains ultra loose monetary policy, citing the "fragile" exchange rate situation.
• Central bank also holds the negative interest rate it charges on sight deposits at -0.75 percent.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland's central bank, in Bern, Switzerland, on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

Gianluca Colla | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Swiss National Bank maintained its ultra loose monetary policy on Thursday, citing the "fragile" exchange rate situation.

The SNB kept its target range for the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) at -1.25 to -0.25 percent, as unanimously forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

The central bank also held the negative interest rate it charges on sight deposits at -0.75 percent, adding it remained ready to intervene in the foreign currency markets to block a rise in the Swiss franc.

Both measures have been employed by the SNB to stem investor appetite for the franc over the last three and-a-half years.

The SNB maintained its description of the franc as "highly valued," and adding despite the currency's weakening during 2018 the situation on the currency markets was "fragile."