Federal popular initiative “For crisis-safe money: Money creation by the National Bank only! (Sovereign Money Initiative)”

The Federal Constitution shall be amended as follows

Art. 99 Monetary policy and the regulation of financial services

¹ The Confederation guarantees that the economy is supplied with money and financial services. It may deviate from the principle of economic freedom.

² Only the Confederation may create legal tender in the form of coins, banknotes and book money.

³ The creation and use of other means of payment are permitted provided this is compatible with the statutory mandate of the Swiss National Bank.

⁴ The law shall regulate the financial market in the overall interests of the country. In particular it shall regulate:

a the fiduciary duties of financial service providers;

b. the oversight of the terms and conditions of the financial service;

c. the authorisation and supervision of financial products;

d. capital requirements;

e. the limiting of proprietary trading.

⁵ Financial service providers shall hold transaction accounts for customers off their balance sheets. If the financial service provider goes bankrupt, these accounts do not fall into the bankruptcy estate.

Art. 99a Swiss National Bank

¹ The Swiss National Bank, as an independent central bank, shall pursue a monetary policy that serves the overall interests of the country; it manages the money supply and ensures both the functioning of the payment transaction system and the supply of credit to the economy by financial services providers.

² It may set a minimum holding period for investments.

³ Under its legal mandate, it shall bring newly created money into circulation free from corresponding debt, via the federal government or the cantons, or by allocating it directly to citizens. It may grant banks term loans.

⁴ The Swiss National Bank shall create sufficient currency reserves from its revenues; part of these reserves shall be held in gold.

⁵ A minimum of two thirds of the net profits made by the Swiss National Bank shall be allocated to the Cantons.

⁶ In the discharge of its duties, the Swiss National Bank is only bound by the law.

Art. 197 para. 12

Transitional provisions to Art. 99 (monetary policy and the regulation of financial services) and 99a (Swiss National Bank)

¹ The implementing regulations shall stipulate that on the date when the new rules come into force, all book money in transaction accounts shall become legal tender. The corresponding liabilities of financial service providers shall become liabilities to the Swiss National Bank. This ensures that the liabilities will be settled from this book money conversion within a reasonable transition period. Existing credit agreements remain unaffected.

² In particular, in the transition phase, the Swiss National Bank shall ensure that there is neither a shortage nor a flood of money. During this time they may grant easier access to loans to financial institutions.

³ If the appropriate federal legislation is not adopted within two years of Articles 99 and 99a coming into force, the Federal Council shall issue the necessary implementing regulations by ordinance within a year.