Soft-Spoken Jordan of SNB Hands Markets Seismic Shock

Thomas Jordan, president of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), speaks during the bank's annual general meeting (AGM) in Berne, Switzerland.

Photographer: Valentin Flauraud/Bloomberg
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Thomas Jordan, invariably calm and mild-mannered, delivered the monetary policy equivalent of a nuclear bomb.

The Swiss National Bank, which he leads, stunned markets around the world yesterday by getting rid of its three-year-old cap of 1.20 per euro on the franc in what was a major policy reversal for the typically staid institution.