The Swiss franc fell against its primary trading partners on Monday after Swiss voters rejected a proposal to dramatically alter the country’s financial landscape by preventing commercial banks from electronically creating money during the lending process. The initiative, called the Sovereign Money initiative was shot down by more than 75 percent of voters on Sunday.
The Swiss National Bank also opposed the proposal on the grounds that it would have made the SNB the only body allowed to create money, which could wind up limiting its ability to control monetary policy. The SNB also argued that passing the proposal would have made it difficult to control inflation.
The franc was trading at 0.9856 against the dollar as of 2:16 p.m. HK/SIN. The euro was up 0.45 percent against the franc, to trade at 1.1643.
The Canadian dollar also struggled on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump kaboshed the G7’s united front over the weekend. Trump left the G7 summit early and spoke negatively about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump’s rampage against Canada and Europe continued as he arrived in Singapore for a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim ong Un which will be held on Tuesday. The U.S. dollar was up 0.33 percent against the Canadian dollar on Monday mid-afternoon, to trade at $1.2965.
Traders are largely focusing on the U.S.-North Korea meeting this week, as well as announcements from three central banks which are expected later in the week. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday for the second time this year, while European Central Bank officials are expected to announce an end date for their financial stimulus plan.