Swiss Turmoil Spreading in Europe as Saxo, Credit Suisse Hurt
(Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group AG and Saxo Bank A/S joined the list of European financial companies warning that the abrupt end to the cap on the Swiss franc may hurt their earnings.
Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, indicated Monday that currency swings may hurt profit, depending in part on “any offsetting management actions.” So far the volatility in foreign exchange has “not materially impacted” capital ratios, the Zurich-based company said.
“Swiss bank earnings will be significantly lower,” said Andreas Venditti, a Zurich-based analyst at Vontobel Securities AG. “The impact will depend on how quickly the companies can react and how in-depth their actions will be. The whole thing isn’t over yet.”
In the hours after the Swiss central bank on Jan. 15 scrapped a three-year-old policy of capping its currency against the euro, the franc soared as much as 41 percent against the euro and strengthened against other currencies. Francs make up a larger share of costs than revenues for many Swiss banks.
Julius Baer Group Ltd., Switzerland’s third-largest wealth manager, said it plans to take “appropriate measures” to defend profitability from the stronger franc. The bank said it didn’t suffer losses in the two trading days after the SNB move.
UBS Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank, hasn’t commented on the effect of currency swings since the Swiss National Bank’s decision.
Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays Plc suffered about $400 million in cumulative trading losses, people familiar with events said last week.
Copenhagen-based Saxo Bank said it may incur losses because some clients don’t have enough collateral to cover their losses from trading the franc. The lender said it will still be able to meet its regulatory capital requirements even if it cannot recover losses.
In the U.K., IG Group Holdings Plc, a spread-betting company, said Tuesday it expects losses from the sudden rise in the franc not to exceed 30 million pounds ($45 million) after “a few hundred clients” were hurt.
The country’s market regulator has written to about 90 brokers seeking information on possible repercussions from the franc moves, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Alpari (UK) Ltd., a foreign-exchange broker that sought a rescue plan after it was buffeted by last week’s market rout, has gone into administration after it failed to find a company willing to buy it out.
To contact the reporters on this story: Elena Logutenkova in Zurich at elogutenkova@bloomberg.net; Jeffrey Vögeli in Zurich at jvogeli@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elisa Martinuzzi at emartinuzzi@bloomberg.net Cindy Roberts, Edward Evans
