FX Chatroom breaks news on SNB intervening

Clients in Reuters FX chatroom, The Dealing Room, were first to learn that the Swiss central bank, for the first time ever, had intervened directly to weaken its currency in Asian trading on Feb 5. As the euro jumped from 1.47 francs to above 1.49, Reuters was alone with news of the sharp move and rumor of SNB intervention. The Tokyo team checked with traders and even called the SNB in Zurich in the wee hours of their morning to get confirmation that it was indeed the SNB selling francs. Usually the central bank uses intermediaries. Chatter in the Dealing Room and FX analyst Rick Lloyd helped the team track down the few banks that had dealt with the SNB, giving Reuters the scoop that the Swiss had intervened directly. Westpac and RBS said Reuters was alone with the news in Asia. BBG’s “no comment” line from SNB later in the day was a poor match. Research reports the next day also widely attributed the news to Reuters.