SNB's Tschudin says they are not seeing a large increase in the CHF carry trade

SNB's Tschudin says they are not seeing a large increase in the CHF carry trade.

Remarks of this kind from an SNB official are best read as comfort signalling rather than new policy information: central banks in this position have historically commented on carry dynamics when the franc's role as a funding currency is in question, and the substance is the denial itself, not the observation. The distinction that matters is between a carry trade built on rate differentials, which unwinds when the SNB's stance shifts or risk appetite turns, and structural franc strength driven by safe-haven flows, which is insensitive to funding costs. Comments downplaying carry build-up have in past episodes been designed to reduce the perceived risk of a disorderly unwind into EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, pairs where crowded short-franc positioning has previously reversed sharply when global volatility spikes. The actors here have prior form: the SNB has a long record of verbal intervention on franc valuation and of tolerating low rates precisely because they make the currency unattractive to hold long. What is worth watching is whether this tone persists across other officials and whether positioning data corroborates the claim, since official reassurance and actual leveraged exposure have diverged before. As single-official commentary, the signal is marginal for the front end and for the franc itself.