A strange common thread connects Bern and Athens today. This time, however, the financial storm hits Switzerland, causing the bankruptcy of a famous broker, while in Greece savers play defense, fearing that the result of the early elections will bring back the winds of speculation on them.
At the moment, Swiss finance is in the eye of the storm, in fibrillation since yesterday the National Bank canceled the minimum threshold imposed on the euro-franc exchange rate (1,20), causing a shock to the currency market that immediately transferred to the stock exchange.
The first victim is Alpari Uk, a broker active on the currency market, which, among other things, is a sponsor of the English football team West Ham. The company declared today the state of insolvency due to the "exceptional volatility and extreme lack of liquidity" caused by the move by the Swiss central bank, which caused losses to the majority of the broker's clients, even exceeding their respective credits. “When a customer cannot cover the loss he passes it on to us,” writes Alpari UK. However, the funds of retail customers remain protected, according to the rules set by the authorities.
On the other hand, Fxcm, the largest retail currency broker in the US and Asia, suffers. Already in the pre-market the stock lost 86% to 1,77 dollars with 2,7 million shares traded. Shares closed on Wall Street yesterday at $12,63, down 15%.
As for Greece, the apprehension in view of the elections of 25 January is beginning to translate into concrete actions by savers, who – as a precaution – have already withdrawn over three billion euros at the counter. According to the Greek press, two banks have already asked the central institute for emergency cash. The Kathimerini newspaper also writes that many other banks in the country would be willing to draw on the emergency liquidity assistance fund (ELA).
According to Bloomberg, the bonds of Greece and Cyprus would be excluded from the ECB's Qe to be launched on January 22 as they are not sufficiently guaranteed.
