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Important Notice: IG Markets South Africa will no longer provide Trading Accounts. This change does not affect existing International/offshore accounts. New applications will be supported by IG International, part of IG Group, via https://www.ig.com/en. Important Notice: IG Markets South Africa will no longer provide Trading Accounts. This change does not affect existing International/offshore accounts. New applications will be supported by IG International, part of IG Group, via https://www.ig.com/en.

SNB definition

SNB stands for Swiss National Bank, the central bank for Switzerland.

Like other central banks, the SNB is responsible for setting monetary policy. It is also responsible for the issuing of Swiss franc banknotes.

Unlike many other central banks, the SNB is a private company. Just over half of its shares are held by public institutions, with the rest traded on the Swiss stock market.

The SNB is also referred to as the Banque Nationale Suisse in French, Schweizerische Nationalbank in German, Banca Naziunala Svizra in Romansh and Banca Nazionale Svizzera in Italian. The Bank’s logo reflects all four languages of Switzerland, plus English.

The Swiss currency crisis

In early 2015, the SNB became international news when it lifted its currency peg fixing the Swiss franc’s price to that of the euro. The currency peg had been in place for several years, and its release caused major movements in the Swiss franc and other currencies.

To see the current and historical value of the euro against the Swiss franc, take a look at its chart.

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