Swiss exporters need the central bank to defend the cap it imposed on the strong Swiss franc a year ago, even if they have become more efficient, Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann was quoted as saying.
"The Swiss franc is still overvalued, perhaps no longer as strongly as in summer 2011. Export companies need the planning security of the minimum limit," Schneider-Ammann told SonntagsBlick newspaper in an interview.
The Swiss National Bank set a cap of 1.20 francs per euro a year ago to prevent the soaring safe-haven currency causing deflation and a recession.
Export-oriented Swiss industrial companies have started to recover from the ill-effects of the strong franc and are doing better now than at the start of the year, a study showed last week.
Schneider-Amman said that Swiss companies had used the protection of the cap on the franc to become more innovative and efficient. "They are better prepared should the safety net fall away," he said.