Fallout from Switzerland’s wildly swinging currency ricocheted around the world, hitting global banks with tens of millions of dollars in losses and triggering the collapse of some brokerage firms.
In the first move, back in September 2011 the rise in the SNB´s balance sheet (reserve assets) was temporary, enough to convince everyone they were serious. Several months later, in mid-2012, to hold the euro Draghi had to come out with his “whatever it takes” pledge. The SNB´s BS jumped “once and for all”.
Now, in the expectations of a significant monetary policy move (QE?) by the ECB, the SNB “chickened-out”, a surprise move with deleterious consequences for many.
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