FXCM to forgive clients who incurred in losses after SNB's decision

Foreign exchange market broker FXCM will forgive approximately 90% of its client who suffered losses as a result of the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) decision to remove its currency cap on the franc.

On 15 January, the SNB opted to unexpectedly remove its three-year cap on the Swiss currency, sparking volatility in the market, which led traders and brokers to suffer sizeable losses.

"FXCM worked diligently to reach this decision and we are extremely appreciative of our clients for their patience and loyalty as we worked through this," FXCM chief executive Drew Niv said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The SNB announcement, extreme price movements and the resulting lack of liquidity were exceptional and unprecedented events causing many market participants to incur trading losses. These events were unforeseen and beyond the control of FXCM.”

The broker added it will also notify clients - such as institutional and experienced traders who maintain higher account balances – to request payment of negative balances.

This group of clients, FXCM said, represented approximately 10% of clients who incurred negative balances, which comprised over 60% of the total debit balances owed.