Helping you navigate 30 years of FX volatility

2000: The dotcom crash

The bursting of the technology bubble wiped trillions off global equity markets. As high-risk tech investments collapsed, capital flooded out of equities and into safe-haven currencies and government bonds. This triggered aggressive interest rate cuts from central banks, fundamentally altering the yield landscape of the early 2000s.

2001: The financial fallout of 9/11

The 9/11 terrorist attacks caused unprecedented dislocation in US financial markets, forcing Wall Street to shut down for a week. Liquidity in the US dollar fell sharply as investors rushed to other safe-haven assets. To prevent a catastrophic global banking freeze, the US Federal Reserve established emergency "swap lines" with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) to inject critical US dollar liquidity directly into the foreign exchange system.

2002: The End of 'Herstatt Risk'

Physical euro coins and notes enter circulation. More importantly for the FX backend, CLS Bank was launched to provide simultaneous payment-versus-payment settlement. This largely eliminated the systemic risk of one party defaulting mid-trade, making the global FX market infinitely safer.

2008: The Global Financial Crisis

The collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a worldwide banking meltdown. FX liquidity evaporated, and investors engaged in a massive "flight to safety," dumping more risk-sensitive currencies for the US dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc. The crisis also ushered in the era of cheap debt as central banks around the world introduced ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing.

Amidst the global banking chaos, we launch our online money transfer service, giving clients the ability to manage their own currency risk from home.

Tales from the trading desk: "The volatility and uncertainty in 2008 were on another level entirely. Clients weren't just asking where currencies were going—they were genuinely terrified about whether their transactions would complete and if their banks would even stay open. It highlighted that during true crises, clients often need a trusted partner to talk to just as much as they need a competitive FX rate."

2009: The Eurozone crisis

The European sovereign debt crisis begins, with Greece, Ireland, and Portugal requiring massive financial bailouts. It triggered years of extreme volatility for the single currency, which would only be stabilised in 2013, after the ECB slashed interest rates to a record low, where they would remain for almost a decade. 

2015: The 'Swiss Shock'

On January 15th, the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly abandoned its 1.20 floor on the EUR/CHF pair. The Swiss franc surged by roughly 30% against the euro in a matter of minutes, wiping out several retail brokers overnight and proving that central bank promises can be broken.

2016: Brexit

The UK shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union. The British pound plunged to a 31-year low against the US dollar overnight, ushering in years of severe baseline volatility for GBP pairs.

As clients scrambled to navigate the unprecedented GBP volatility, we launched our first mobile app to give users 24/7 access to their transfers.

Tales from the trading desk: "The morning after the Brexit vote was unforgettable. The atmosphere on the trading floor was incredibly tense. Clients were calling at the crack of dawn, especially property buyers with GBP/EUR exposure, desperately asking what they should do next. It was a masterclass in the importance of remaining a calm, steady voice when the markets are moving violently."

2020: The COVID pandemic

Global economic lockdowns triggered the ultimate modern black swan event. A frantic dash for the US dollar caused a liquidity squeeze in the world’s reserve currency, triggering erratic swings across all major and emerging market pairs until central banks intervened with trillions in emergency stimulus.

Tales from the trading desk: "Covid brought a completely different type of volatility. Our entire way of working changed overnight, and our clients were left trying to untangle what global lockdowns and travel bans meant for their overseas property purchases. There was a massive amount of hand-holding and reassurance required for transactions that were already underway." 

2022: Inflation crunch & King Dollar

The knock-on effects of COVID-era stimulus, coupled with supply chain breakdowns and the invasion of Ukraine, caused global inflation to spike. While most central banks began to tighten monetary policy in an effort to control price growth, the US Federal Reserve was particularly aggressive in hiking rates, propelling the US dollar to historic highs.

Backed by a £140 million investment from Blackstone, we continued our global expansion, ensuring our clients had the technology and capital backing to trade safely.

2025: US trade policy uncertainty

The announcement of sweeping US tariffs in April 2025 sent shockwaves through global markets, wiping trillions off equities in a matter of days. The US dollar plunged to multi-year lows as capital flows were redirected into other safe-haven assets

2026: Gulf energy price shock

Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and severe disruptions to shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz triggered an acute global energy price shock. The resulting inflationary pressures forced most major central banks to kick-start a fresh hiking cycle, which in turn contributed to turmoil in global bond markets.