| GENEVA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The financial market crisis in the United States is no threat to the Swiss economy, Switzerland’s central bank governor said on Sunday.
The Swiss financial system is well placed to withstand the turbulence that has sent stock markets across the globe on a roller-coaster ride in recent days, Jean-Pierre Roth, president of the Swiss National Bank, told the Zurich-based NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.
High default rates for U.S. sub-prime mortgages triggered a widening crisis in financial markets that spread to other asset classes.
"We have not got to the end of the story regarding the development of mortgage markets in the United States," said Roth. "The origins are in cheap credit. What happened is unbelievable."
But Roth added that he expected the Swiss financial system to withstand the current situation. "The commitments of the large Swiss banks... are in proportion to their own capital," he said.
Roth warned though that it was still unclear where all the risks lie at this moment. "But I have great trust that the finance institutions have a grip on the risks." | 
