Barclays Said to Lose Millions of Dollars Amid SNB Surprise Move
(Bloomberg) — Barclays Plc, the third-largest currency dealer in the world, lost tens of millions of dollars on Thursday amid an unexpected surge in the Swiss franc, according to a person with knowledge of the trading.
The losses came to less than $100 million and will not have a material impact on the bank’s results, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The bank is able to fulfill all spot Swiss currency trades made after the Swiss central bank unexpectedly abandoned a three- year-old cap on the franc versus the euro, the person said.
The franc surged as much as 41 percent versus the euro, the biggest gain on record, and climbed more than 15 percent against all of the more than 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg following the decision. Two brokers, Global Brokers NZ Ltd. and Alpari (UK) Ltd., said they were forced to shut down amid continuing market turmoil.
An official at London-based Barclays declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported the estimated size of the bank’s losses earlier.
IG Group Holdings Plc estimated an impact of as much as 30 million pounds ($46 million), while Swissquote Group Holdings SA set aside 25 million francs ($29 million).
Citigroup Inc. has the largest share of the global foreign exchange market at 16 percent, followed by Deutsche Bank AG with 15.7 percent and Barclays with 10.9 percent, according to an October Euromoney survey.
–With assistance from Julia Verlaine in London.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Morris in London at smorris39@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simone Meier at smeier@bloomberg.net Keith Campbell
