Bank losses from SNB surprise seen mounting

Zurich

THE US$400 million of cumulative losses that Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays plc are said to have suffered from the Swiss central bank's decision to end the cap on the franc may be followed by others in coming days.

"The losses will be in the billions - they are still being tallied," said Mark Williams, an executive-in-residence at Boston University specialising in risk management. "They will range from large banks, brokers, hedge funds, mutual funds to currency speculators. There will be ripple effects throughout the financial system."

Citigroup, the world's biggest currencies dealer, lost more than US$150 million at its trading desks, a person with knowledge of the matter said last week. Deutsche Bank lost US$150 million and Barclays less than US$100 million, people familiar with the events said, after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) scr…