Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Moynihan: Swiss currency decision a boon for BofA



The end of the cap on the Swiss franc is leading to major losses for some banks — but it's been a good thing for Charlotte-based Bank of America, its CEO told CNBC Tuesday.


New York-based Citigroup, Germany-based Deutsche Bank AG and England-based Barclays Plc are said to have suffered $400 million in cumulative losses following the Swiss central bank’s decision to abandon the cap on the franc's value against the euro, Bloomberg reported Monday. Those losses may be followed by others in coming days, according to the news agency.

But Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC that his bank has benefited from the Swiss currency shock that rocked markets and companies last week.

"We made money in the last few days and we helped our customers," Moynihan said in the CNBC interview in Davos, Switzerland, where he's attending the World Economic Forum, the annual gathering of financial and political elites from across the world. "It hasn't been a big impact on us but it caught everybody by surprise."

Here are more excerpts from CNBC's story on the interview:
Moynihan said that his bank made money in the currency markets and trading in the wake of Thursday's announcement that the Swiss franc would no longer be pegged to the euro. 
He said the Swiss National Bank decision was good even though it caused some "dislocation in the system." 
"The volatility helps activity, and if you keep your exposures low, any activity actually helps generate revenue," he said. "We were fine, and we look forward to letting the economy adjust."

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