Broker Swissquote books provision after franc surge hits clients
16/01/2015 09:07
ZURICH, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Online broker Swissquote SQN.S
said on Friday it would book a provision of 25 million Swiss
francs ($24.5 million) after the surge in the value of the
currency left many of its clients out of pocket.
The franc gained around 15 percent against the euro on
Thursday after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly ditched its
1.20 per euro cap. ID:nL6N0UU2CQ
"Many clients were following the confirmed longstanding
strategy from the SNB and were anticipating a weakening of the
Swiss franc against the euro," Swissquote said in a statement.
The broker did not clarify on what basis it had calculated
the provision, which it said would weigh on first half results
but not affect its profitability or asset quality.
Even after the charge, it would continue to have a core
capital Tier 1 ratio of around 17 percent, the bank said.
New Zealand currency broker Global Brokers NZ said on Friday
it had been forced to close due to hefty losses incurred from
wild swings in the Swiss franc. ID:nL3N0UV28K
($1 = 0.8634 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Caroline Copley; editing by John Stonestreet)
((Caroline.Copley@thomsonreuters.com; +41 58 306 7354; Reuters
Messaging: caroline.copley.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: SWISS SNB/SWISSQUOTE