Speculation is already under way as to how big is the loss sustained by banks and other institutions as a result of last week’s scrapping of the Swiss franc/euro exchange rate cap.

Speculation is already under way as to how big is the loss sustained by banks and other institutions as a result of last week’s scrapping of the Swiss franc/euro exchange rate cap.

As reported elsewhere here, at least one prominent hedge fund has been badly hit by last Thursday’s shock decision of the Swiss National Bank to end the SFr1.20 cap. The policy had been in place since September 2011.

A report by Bloomberg said cumulative losses of Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Barclays were around $400 million. Such banks are in the process of reporting fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 financial results although the impact of the currency turmoil may not be fully reflected in figures until Q1, 2015 figures are reported later this year.

The news service, quoting an unnamed source, said Citigroup lost more than $150 million at its trading desks. Deutsche Bank lost $150 million and Barclays less than $100 million, the report added, citing people off the record.

Among the casualties is Everest Capital, which has had to shut down one of its hedge funds, while FXCM, the largest US retail foreign-exchange broker, received a $300 million cash infusion from Leucadia National after warning that client losses threatened its compliance with capital rules, the report said.