The year 2015 was not kind to the global banking industry. It began with a nasty shock when the Swiss National Bank (SNB) depegged the Swiss franc on January 15, causing mayhem in the markets.
Not only were hundreds of millions of dollars wiped off banks’ trading desks – businesses already under pressure from reduced margins, challenging market conditions and misconduct fines – but thousands of Polish and Hungarian mortgages priced in the Swiss currency were affected. More ominously, the SNB’s actions shattered the comforting belief that central banks are a benevolent force in the global financial system.
