switzerlands central bank on thursday increased interest rates for a fourth consecutive time seeking to curb stubbornly high inflation relative to historic levels as the country deals with the turmoil in its key banking sector after the takeover of credit suisse group ag the swiss national bank increased its policy rate by 50 basis points to 15 equaling its halfpoint increase at its prior december meeting it comes after swiss inflation came in at 34 in february accelerating from 33 in january and above the snbs target of between 0 and 2 the snb said the rate rise was countering the renewed increase in inflationary pressure and couldnt rule out additional rises in policy rates to ensure price stability over the medium term still swiss inflation is well below that of the eurozone where inflation was 85 the decision comes after the takeover of credit suisse by its crosstown rival ubs group ag with the central bank providing large amounts of liquidity assistance in an effort to halt uncertainty in financial markets the snb said measures announced by the government market regulator finma and the bank had put a halt to the crisis meanwhile the central bank said inflation is likely to remain elevated with forecasts now higher than previous ones made in december in its new inflation forecasts the snb puts average annual inflation at 26 for 2023 and 20 for 2024 and 2025 overall the countrys gross domestic product is likely to increase by a modest 1 this year it added