On 15 January 2015 the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned its minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs per euro with immediate effect, and the franc surged as much as about 30% against the euro within minutes. It was one of the largest moves ever seen in a major currency.

Traders who were short the franc were wiped out, several brokers failed, and thousands of retail clients ended the day with negative balances.

The event changed the rules for retail trading. Negative balance protection, guaranteed stops and lower leverage on some pairs all became more common because of what happened that morning.

DateThursday 15 January 2015
Policy endedMinimum rate of CHF 1.20 per euro, in place since September 2011
Rate changeSight deposit rate cut to −0.75% from 22 January
EUR/CHF lowAround 0.85, widely reported
Best-known casualtiesFXCM (rescued), Alpari UK (insolvent)

Why the floor existed

During the euro debt crisis investors bought Swiss francs as a safe place to park money, and the franc rose so far that Swiss exporters and tourism were suffering. In September 2011 the SNB said it would not allow the euro to trade below 1.20 francs and would buy foreign currency in unlimited amounts to enforce that level.

For more than three years it worked. EUR/CHF sat just above 1.20, and many traders treated the floor as almost risk-free: buying EUR/CHF near 1.20 seemed to offer a small upside with the central bank guaranteeing the downside. The cost was rising for the SNB, though. Defending the floor meant buying ever larger amounts of euros, and with the European Central Bank expected to start large-scale bond buying, the pressure was set to grow.

The morning of 15 January

At 10:30 Swiss time the SNB announced that it was discontinuing the minimum rate and lowering its deposit rate to −0.75%. Only days earlier its officials had described the floor as a cornerstone of policy, so almost nobody was positioned for the change.

EUR/CHF on 15 January 2015Francs per euro, approximate1.20Before 10:30≈0.85Intraday low≈1.04End of daySource: SNB announcement; prices as widely reportedfxrecap.com
A move that normally takes years happened in minutes.

Liquidity vanished. Banks pulled their prices because nobody knew where the franc should trade, so for several minutes there were almost no buyers of euros at any price. Stop-loss orders that were meant to close positions just below 1.20 were filled hundreds or even thousands of pips lower, wherever the first available price appeared. By the close the franc had settled roughly 15% stronger, but the damage was done in the first chaotic minutes.

Brokers and traders who were hit

Retail traders using high leverage lost more than their deposits. When a stop is filled far beyond its level, the loss can exceed the balance in the account, and the client owes the difference. Brokers that could not collect those debts took the losses themselves.

  • FXCM, then one of the largest US retail brokers, said client negative balances owed to it were about $225 million. It needed a $300 million rescue loan from Leucadia National to stay within capital rules.
  • Alpari UK said client losses beyond their equity had been passed to the firm, and it entered insolvency days later. Client money was held in segregated accounts under UK rules.
  • Global Brokers NZ in New Zealand closed, saying the franc's surge had made it impossible to continue.

Large banks and hedge funds also reported losses, but for retail traders the lasting memory was a broker statement showing a negative number.

What changed after the shockBefore 2015After 2015Losses could exceed depositsNegative balance protection spreadVery high leverage commonEU and UK capped leverage in 2018Stops assumed to fill near their levelGuaranteed stops promoted morePegs treated as safeHigher margin on pegged pairsSource: FX Recap summary of industry and regulatory changesfxrecap.com
The crash reshaped how retail brokers manage risk.

The rules that came after

The European Securities and Markets Authority made negative balance protection mandatory for retail contract for difference (CFD) clients in 2018, alongside leverage caps of 30:1 on major pairs. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority applied similar rules, and many brokers outside Europe now offer the same protection voluntarily, and some raise margin requirements on currencies that are pegged or heavily managed, because a peg can end without warning.

Negative balance protection depends on where your account is held. Check the client agreement: if the company holding your money is not covered by a rule that guarantees it, a gap could still leave you owing the broker.

Illustrative case: Lukas, 34, Zurich area

Lukas held a 2-lot long EUR/CHF position near 1.2010 with a stop at 1.1950, risking what he thought was about 60 pips. When the floor went, his stop was filled near 1.0500, about 1,500 pips away. On a position worth roughly 200,000 euros, the loss came to tens of thousands of francs against a deposit of 10,000. His broker offered no negative balance protection at the time, so he owed the difference. He now trades smaller, avoids pegged pairs and keeps his account with a firm that guarantees he cannot lose more than he deposits.

Could it happen again?

Yes. Any currency whose price is held by policy rather than by the market carries the same risk. Several countries still peg their currencies to the dollar or manage them within narrow ranges, and history is full of pegs that held for years and then broke in a day, from sterling in 1992 to the Thai baht in 1997.

The warning signs tend to look similar. A central bank spends reserves at a growing pace, officials insist the policy is permanent, and the trade that bets on the peg holding becomes popular because it looks safe. When those conditions line up, the risk is not that the peg breaks gradually but that it breaks all at once. Traders who must hold such pairs keep positions small, avoid maximum leverage and accept that their stop may not protect them.

The Swiss case also shows that a central bank may act precisely when the market least expects it. A surprise is part of the design: a policy that is announced weeks in advance gives speculators time to position against it, so central banks that decide to exit a peg rarely warn anyone first.

Lessons for traders today

  • A promise from a central bank is not a guarantee. Policies change when their cost becomes too high.
  • Stops do not always fill at your price. In a gap, they fill at the next available price, which can be far away.
  • Size for the worst day, not the normal day. Leverage turns a rare event into an account-ending one.
  • Choose protection. Negative balance protection, and guaranteed stops where offered, limit the damage of a gap.

Read how stops behave when prices jump in our guide to weekend gaps and slippage, and how to cap the size of any one loss in forex risk management.

Cite this guide

FX Recap, "The Swiss Franc Crash of 2015: When a Central Bank Shocked the Market", updated 8 November 2026, https://fxrecap.com/learn-forex/education/swiss-franc-crash-2015

Free to quote with a link. Journalists: data and comment in our press room.

Frequently asked

Why did the Swiss franc jump in 2015?

The Swiss National Bank suddenly ended its policy of stopping the euro from falling below 1.20 francs. Without that support, demand for francs pushed the currency up as much as about 30% against the euro within minutes on 15 January 2015.

Why did the SNB remove the floor?

Defending it required buying ever larger amounts of euros, and the European Central Bank was expected to begin large-scale bond buying. The SNB judged that the floor was no longer justified and that the cost of enforcing it would keep growing.

Which brokers went bust after the franc shock?

Alpari UK entered insolvency and Global Brokers NZ closed. FXCM survived only after a $300 million rescue loan, having reported about $225 million of client negative balances. Several other firms reported large losses.

Can I lose more than my deposit trading forex?

With some brokers, yes. Retail clients in the EU and UK have negative balance protection by law, so their losses stop at the account balance. Elsewhere it depends on the broker, so check the terms before you trade.

Is EUR/CHF still risky to trade?

The pair trades freely now, so it no longer carries the specific risk of a floor being removed. It can still move sharply when the SNB acts, because the franc is a haven currency that rises in times of stress. Check your broker's margin and leverage on the pair, which some firms keep higher than for other majors.

Why did stop-loss orders not work?

A stop becomes a market order when its level is hit, and it fills at the next available price. On 15 January there were almost no prices for several minutes, so stops filled hundreds or thousands of pips beyond their levels.