Swiss franc exchange-rate floor abolished

Conditions at the time

Euro weakness increased the intervention burden of maintaining the Swiss franc’s exchange-rate floor.

How events unfolded

On 1/15, the Swiss National Bank abolished the minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs per euro.

Stakeholders and impacts

The SNB, foreign-exchange investors, exporters and financial institutions were exposed to a sudden exchange-rate policy change.

Information available at the time

The central-bank deposit rate was lowered to -0.75% to reduce incentives for franc investment.

Findings confirmed later

In a subsequent speech, the SNB explained that the growing scale of intervention made the previous policy unsustainable.

Alternative interpretations and limitations

Abolishing the floor does not mean foreign-exchange intervention ended permanently. Leveraged-investment losses depend on individual positions.

Source-based context and interpretation

The SNB explained that defending the floor required increasingly large interventions and became unsustainable. It deepened negative rates and retained the option of FX intervention. Removing the floor was not abandoning all exchange-rate management or accommodation. ASSETCASTING interpretation: A fixed-price commitment differs from discretionary intervention. Leverage built on a supposedly permanent exchange-rate floor can magnify losses when the framework changes. The SNB's policy rationale did not guarantee a subsequent exchange-rate reversal.

Evidence coverage through 2015-04-24 · Sources checked 2026-10-14

• SNB monetary policy after the discontinuation of the minimum exchange rate ↗

Related events and periods1

• Financial-crisis response and unconventional monetary policy →

  An event or period whose recorded start falls within this editorial interval. This does not establish that it caused or represents the characteristics of the era, nor guarantee that the entire period falls within the interval.