FRANC Painting

Yury Ermolenko, "FRANC", ("ETERNAL VALUES" project), 2009, acrylic on canvas, 225x150 сm. The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins. The smaller denomination, a hundredth of a franc, is a Rappen (Rp.) The ISO code of the currency used by banks and financial institutions is CHF. In March 2011, the franc climbed past the US$1.10 mark (CHF 0.91 per U.S. dollar). In June 2011, the franc climbed past US$1.20 (CHF 0.833 per U.S. dollar) as investors sought safety as the Greek sovereign debt crisis continued. Continuation of the same crisis in Europe and the debt crisis in the US propelled the Swiss franc past US$1.30 (CHF 0.769 per U.S. dollar) as of August 2011, prompting the Swiss National Bank to boost the franc's liquidity to try to counter its "massive overvaluation". The Economist argued that its Big Mac Index in July 2011 indicated an overvaluation of 98% over the dollar, and cited Swiss companies releasing profit warnings and threatening to move operations out of the country due to the strength of the franc. Demand for francs and franc-denominated assets was so strong that nominal short-term Swiss interest rates became negative. On 6 September 2011, when the exchange rate was 1.095 CHF/€ and appeared to be heading for parity with the euro, the SNB set a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs to the euro (capping franc's appreciation), saying "the value of the franc is a threat to the economy", and that it was "prepared to buy foreign currency in unlimited quantities". In response to this announcement the franc fell against the euro, to 1.22 francs from 1.12 francs and lost 9% against the U.S. dollar within fifteen minutes. The intervention stunned currency traders, since the franc had long been regarded as a safe haven. The franc fell 8.8% against the euro, 9.5% against the dollar, and at least 8.2% against all 16 of the most active currencies on the day of the announcement. It was the largest plunge of the franc ever against the euro. The SNB had previously set an exchange rate target in 1978 against the Deutsche mark and maintained it, although at the cost of high inflation. Until mid-January 2015, the franc continued to trade below the target level set by the SNB, though the ceiling was broken at least once on 5 April 2012, albeit briefly. On 18 December 2014, the Swiss central bank introduced a negative interest rate on bank deposits to support its CHF ceiling. However, with the euro declining in value over the following weeks, in a move dubbed Francogeddon for its effect on markets, the Swiss National Bank abandoned the ceiling on 15 January 2015, and the franc promptly increased in value compared with the euro by 30%, although this only lasted a few minutes before part of the increase was reversed. The move was not announced in advance and resulted in "turmoil" in stock and currency markets. By the close of trading that day, the franc was up 23% against the euro and 21% against the US dollar. The full daily appreciation of the franc was equivalent to $31,000 per single futures contract: more than the market had moved collectively in the previous thousand days. The key CHF interest rate was also lowered from −0.25% to −0.75%, meaning depositors would be paying an increased fee to keep their funds in a Swiss bank account. This devaluation of the euro against the franc was expected to hurt Switzerland's large export industry. The Swatch Group, for example, saw its shares drop 15% (in Swiss franc terms) with the announcements so that the share price may have increased on that day in terms of other major currencies. The large and unexpected jump caused major losses for some currency traders. Alpari, a Russian-owned spread betting firm established in the UK, temporarily declared insolvency before announcing its desire to be acquired (and later denied rumours of an acquisition) by FXCM. FXCM was bailed out by its parent company. Saxo Bank of Denmark reported losses on 19 January 2015. New Zealand foreign exchange broker Global Brokers NZ announced it "could no longer meet New Zealand regulators' minimum capital requirements" and terminated its business. Media questioned the ongoing credibility of the Swiss central bank, and indeed central banks in general. Using phrases like "extend-and-pretend" to describe central bank exchange rate control measures, Saxobank chief economist Steen Jakobsen said, "As a group, central banks have lost credibility and when the ECB starts QE this week, the beginning of the end for central banks will be well under way". BT Investment Management's head of income and fixed interest Vimal Gor said, "Central banks are becoming more and more impotent. It also ultimately proves that central banks cannot drive economic growth like they think they can". UBS interest rate strategist Andrew Lilley commented, "central banks can have inconsistent goals from one-day to another".

Painting:Acrylic on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:59.1 W x 88.6 H x 1.2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.