Shares of the biggest lenders on the Warsaw Stock Exchange plummeted Thursday, after a surprise move by the Swiss National Bank to end its policy of pegging the franc to the euro and to allow the currency to gain in value. The announcement sent the franc soaring against all other currencies, jumping 1.8 percent against the euro and 17 percent against the Polish złoty. Immediately following the move on Thursday, the Zurich stock market dropped 18 percent.
Out of all Polish lenders with a substantial ratio of Swiss franc loans, shares in Noble Bank suffered the most on the WSE from the SNB decision, posting a 16-percent drop, followed by BZ WBK (-7.6 percent) and mBank (-7.5 percent). WSE’s benchmark index, WIG 20, fell by 3.1 percent.
In response to the turmoil, Poland’s National Bank assured investors that the country’s banking sector remains stable and resistant to external shocks, including currency movements. “The CHF-PLN movements have no relations with the country’s economic shape,” NBP wrote in a statement.
