Gain Capital’s Forex.com halts trading in Swiss francs

Reuters is reporting that Gain Capital (NYSE: GCAP) today has suspended trading in Swiss francs due to the surge in swissy volatility after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly abandoned the currency’s exchange rate cap against the euro.

“We’re just waiting for our liquidity providers to come back and say they will provide liquidity again,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com, adding that the suspension was temporary.

“It’s very difficult to get liquidity in Swiss francs against anything right now. The whole market has dried up,” she said.

The euro plunged close to 30 percent against the swiss currency on Thursday after the SNB scrapped the 1.20 per euro floor it set over three years ago.

UPDATES: The suspension has since been lifted. Gain Capital restarted activity at about 10:30 a.m. London time, according to Kathleen Brooks, European research director at the subsidiary of Gain Capital Holdings Inc.

*In a further update based on its current market and credit exposure, GAIN stated it does not expect today’s market events to have a material adverse financial impact.

Gain Capital has sent a statement to LeapRate which reads as follows:

In the minutes following the SNB’s announcement, the FX markets did experience significant price gaps and periods of extreme illiquidity, but GAIN Capital’s Forex.com maintained its price feed throughout and filled client orders as liquidity became available.  Price action has stabilized from earlier today and trading of Swiss Franc currency pairs remains available to all to our customers.  However, volatility is still high and we are advising clients to manage their risk exposure accordingly.

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