HKMA 'following up' with banks on Swiss franc trading

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's de facto central bank said on Friday it was looking into the practices of banks and foreign exchange brokers of their trading of Swiss francs after Switzerland's unexpected move to abandon its currency cap.

The Swiss currency surged as much as 30 per cent to a high of 0.8500 franc per euro EURCHF=EBS after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) suddenly ditched its commitment to keep its franc above 1.20 per euro. "We are following up with the banks on their practice in this regard including the relevant governing terms and conditions to understand the implication, if any, but we would not comment on the situation of individual banks," the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in an emailed statement.

REUTERS