A sweeping plan to transform Switzerland’s financial landscape by barring commercial banks from electronically developing money when they lend was resoundingly rejected by Swiss voters on Sunday.
Sundry than three quarters rejected the so-called Sovereign Money pep, according to the official result released from the Swiss government.
All of the sticks’s self-governing cantons also voted against in the poll, which lacked a majority from Switzerland’s 26 cantons as well as a simple number of voters to succeed.
Concerns about the potential risks to the Swiss frugality by introducing a “vollgeld” or “real money” system appear to have convinced voters to shun the proposals.
The Swiss government, which had opposed the plan because of the uncertainties it liking unleash, said it was pleased with the result.
“Implementing such a ploy, which would have raised so many questions, would acquire been hardly possible without years of trouble,” Finance Curate Ueli Maurer said.
“Swiss people in general don’t like bewitching risks, and …the people have seen no benefit from these bids. You can also see that our banking system functions…The suspicions against the banks eat been largely eliminated.”
The vote, called under Switzerland’s approach of direct democracy after gathering more than 100,000 signatures, hunger for to make the Swiss National Bank (SNB) the only body authorized to design money in the country.
Contrary to common belief, most money in the area is not produced by central banks but is instead created electronically by commercial lenders when they give beyond the deposits they hold for savers.
This arrangement, underpinned by the assent that most debts will be repaid, has been a cornerstone of the universal capitalist system but opponents say it is unstable because the new money created could beat the rate of economic growth, which could lead to inflationary asset suds.
If approved, Switzerland, famed for its banking industry, would have been the before all country in the world to introduce such a scheme, leading opponents to marque the plan a dangerous experiment which would damage the economy.
The design could have had repercussions beyond Switzerland’s borders by removing a exercise which underpins most of the world’s bank lending.
Support for emend had grown in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, with campaigners signifying their ideas would make the financial system more collateralize and protect people’s savings from bank runs.
As well as the Swiss superintendence, opposition came from the Swiss National Bank and business bodies.
“We are pleased, this would have been an extremely damaging get-up-and-go,” said Heinz Karrer, president of business lobby Economiesuisse.
The SNB conceded the result, saying adoption of the initiative would have made it much harder to power inflation in Switzerland.
“With conditions now remaining unchanged, the SNB will be gifted to maintain its monetary policy focus on ensuring price stability, which write outs an important contribution to our country’s prosperity,” it said in a statement.
Campaigners – a team of academics, former bankers and scientists – said they would go on to work on raising their concerns.
“The discussion is only just travel started,” said campaign spokesman Raffael Wuethrich. “Our goal is that capital should be in the service of the people and not the other way around and we will continue to dispose on it.”