Vollgeld-Initiative und Alternativkonzepte
A full-reserve banking system as requested by a Swiss popular initiative would not bring the promised benefits. Accepting the initiative would entail unforeseeable risks for the Swiss economy. To prevent these risks, voluntary full-reserve accounts have been suggested to complement the existing fractional reserve system.
This article discusses possible concepts for such voluntary full-reserve accounts and assesses their legal feasibility: First, in accordance with current law, private individuals cannot hold current accounts at the Swiss National Bank (SNB). Second, the issuance of central bank cryptocurrencies (CBCC) would require an amendment to art. 99 para. 1 of the Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation and to art. 2 of the Federal Act on Currency and Payment Instruments. Whether CBCC would become part of the bankruptcy estate of the non-bank custodian, which would thus need a banking licence, depends on the technical design of custody. If CBCC are issued, the authors…