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Switzerland to vote on banning banks from creating money
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/swiss-referendum-to-decide-whether-its-banks-can-create-money-a678Seven years after the financial crisis struck, the Swiss federal government confirmed on Christmas Eve that it would ask its people whether the central bank – the SNB – should be the sole institution to be able to create money in its financial system. No date has been set for the referendum yet.
The Swiss Sovereign Money campaign is leading the initiative and aims to curtail financial speculation, demanding that commercial banks hold 100 per cent reserves against their deposits.
This issue will have to go to a referendum under Swiss law now that the petition has gained more than 100,000 signatures within 18 months of launching.
“Banks won’t be able to create money for themselves any more, they’ll only be able to lend money that they have from savers or other banks,” said the campaign group, as reported by The Telegraph.
While central banks do control the creation of printed notes and coins, commercial banks can offer lines of credit. Over 90 per cent of money in circulation in Switzerland now is in the form of electronic cash from commercial banks, in line with the rise of electronic payment transactions.