SNB policy shock will hit smaller Swiss pte banks most

Zurich

AS the dust settles after Switzerland's shock abandonment of its currency cap earlier this month, the country's smaller private banks have emerged as possible casualties of the decision and an associated change in interest rate policy.

In a bid to discourage investors from piling into the safe-haven Swiss franc, which shot higher after the removal of the cap, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) decided to charge even higher so-called negative interest rates from Jan 22 on some of the banks that deposit overnight funds with it, after first saying it would introduce negative interest rates in December.