瑞士央行舉措震盪外匯市場

The move by the Swiss National Bank to scrap its currency ceiling has ensnared two foreign exchange brokers as far apart as New York and New Zealand.

瑞士央行(SNB)取消匯率上限的舉措，已導致兩家遠在紐約和新西蘭的外匯經紀商陷入困境。

FXCM, one of the world’s biggest currency brokers, said it may be in breach of capital requirements after its clients suffered heavy losses on their Swiss franc trades.

全球最大的貨幣經紀之一福匯(FXCM)表示，由於該公司客戶在瑞士法郎交易中遭遇鉅額虧損，該公司可能會出現違反資本要求的情況。

The SNB stunned markets in one of the most dramatic currency interventions in decades on Thursday as it unexpectedly abandoned a ceiling put in place more than three years ago, sending the franc soaring against the euro.

週四，瑞士央行出人意料地放棄了逾三年前設置的匯率上限，從而導致瑞士法郎兌歐元的匯率暴漲。這一震驚市場的舉措是幾十年來最戲劇性的貨幣干預行爲之一。

New York-listed FXCM said in a statement late on Thursday night that it now had negative equity balances owed to the company of $225m, hours after the SNB’s dramatic move sent shockwaves through global currency markets.

在瑞士央行的戲劇性舉措衝擊全球外匯市場幾個小時之後，在紐約上市的福匯週四晚上晚些時候在一份聲明中表示，該公司目前的產權餘額爲負的2.25億美元。

“We are actively discussing alternatives to return our capital to levels prior to today’s events and discussing the matter with our regulators,” FXCM said.

福匯表示：“我們正在積極討論其他選項，以便令我們的資本狀況重返此次事件以前的水平。此外，我們還在與監管機構討論這個問題。”

Shares in FXCM dropped 15 per cent on Thursday, and a further 12 per cent in after-hours trading. The company, which provides online trading for both retail and institutional investors, had a market capitalisation of $714m at the close of Thursday’s session.

福匯是一家同時爲散戶和機構交易者提供網上交易服務的公司。週四該公司股價暴跌了15%，並在盤後交易中又跌了12%。週四收盤時，該公司市值爲7.14億美元。

The shock move by the SNB to scrap its currency ceiling against the euro — in place since late 2011 — rattled foreign exchange markets globally.

瑞士法郎兌歐元匯率的上限是在2011年底設立的。瑞士央行取消上限的震撼舉措令全球外匯市場一片譁然。

At one point on Thursday the Swiss franc strengthened as much as 39 per cent against the European common currency, before settling to a 13 per cent rise later in the day.

週四，瑞士法郎兌歐元匯率的漲幅曾一度達到39%，並在當天晚些時候回落至上漲13%的水平。

Swiss stocks sold off sharply, with banks and exporters recording double-digit declines, while US equities dropped 0.9 per cent. The Japanese yen rose against the dollar.

瑞士股票也遭遇猛烈拋售，各銀行和出口商錄得兩位數的創紀錄跌幅。與此同時，美國股市下跌了0.9%，日元兌美元匯率則有所上升。

FXCM is not the only FX trader to have already run into trouble on Swiss trades. New Zealand-based broker Excel Markets said it had sustained the total loss of its operating capital following the SNB announcement, and would not be able to resume business.

福匯並不是在瑞士外匯交易上遇到麻煩的唯一外匯交易商。總部駐新西蘭的經紀商Excel Markets表示，在瑞士央行的公告之後，該公司的運營資本虧損一空，失去了重啓業務的能力。

“The majority of clients in a franc position were on the losing side and sustained losses amounting to far greater than their account equity. When a client cannot cover their losses it is passed onto us,” Excel said in a statement.

Excel在一份聲明中表示：“大部分持有瑞士法郎頭寸的客戶都在虧損，所遭遇虧損的數額遠遠超過了他們的賬面權益。當客戶無法承擔虧損之時，他們的虧損就會轉移到我們頭上。”

David Johnson, director of Global Brokers NZ — an affiliate of Excel — expressed “sincerest apologies” to shareholders for what he called a “devastating turn of events”.

Excel分公司Global Broker NZ的董事戴維•約翰遜(David Johnson)向股東表示“最誠摯的道歉”，稱公司遭遇了一場“破壞性變故”。

“News of the impact of this event on companies and traders is just beginning to come to light,” he said in a statement.

他在一份聲明中表示：“有關這一事件對各個公司和各個交易商影響的新聞纔剛剛開始出現。”

Additional reporting by Jamie Smyth, Patrick McGee and Jennifer Thompson

傑米•史密斯(Jamie Smyth)、帕特里克•麥吉(Patrick McGee)和詹妮弗•湯普森(Jennifer Thompson)補充報道