The SNB shock of 2015: what would you have done?
In January 2015 the Swiss National Bank abandoned its euro floor without warning; EUR/CHF collapsed about 30% in minutes, stops filled nowhere near their levels, and brokers failed. It's the canonical tail-risk event.
Walk through your response:
- what positions could have caught you
- the risk rules that would have protected you
- what the shock changed about how you trade today
The SNB shock guide reconstructs the day.
Background: The Swiss franc shock of 15 January 2015: when the SNB scrapped the 1.20 floor
The Swiss National Bank abandoned its minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro without warning, and the franc jumped within minutes. What happened, why, and what it taught traders about risk.
Why did the SNB remove the EUR/CHF floor in 2015?
The SNB said the monetary policies of the major currency areas had diverged significantly and the euro had weakened against the dollar, so enforcing the CHF 1.20 minimum exchange rate was no longer justified.
When was the Swiss franc floor introduced?
The SNB introduced the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro in September 2011 and discontinued it on 15 January 2015.
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