Quick Guide To What's Happened With The Swiss Franc

Quick Guide To What’s Happened With The Swiss Franc by Clare O’Dea, swissinfo.ch

The Swiss National Bank took everyone by surprise on Thursday by announcing it was scrapping the euro cap on the franc, otherwise known as the exchange rate ceiling or “the floor”. If you have only a vague idea what this means, read on. 

Q: What is the exchange rate ceiling?

A: This was a policy introduced by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland’s central bank, in 2011 to stop the Swiss franc from gaining too much in value against the euro. The move was deemed necessary because the eurozone is Switzerland’s largest trading partner and the weakening euro meant that Swiss products were fast becoming unaffordable. Swiss...