Brexit Blows Up Currency Derivatives Sold to U.K. Companies

  • Sterling crash turned some currency derivatives toxic
  • Losses prompted jump in misselling claims, lawyers say

Did Brexit Turn the Derivatives Market Toxic?

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

For eight years, TTT Moneycorp Ltd. regularly took Dariusz Suchicki to dinner and soccer matches, all while selling him, as the head of finance of a U.K.-based importer of Polish foods, a series of complex currency derivatives.

When the pound started moving sharply against the zloty, those instruments became toxic: They began costing Suchicki’s company, Best Foods, tens of thousands of pounds a month, the company said in court filings last year. Now, as Britain prepares for Brexit, blow-ups of this type of complex financial instrument are surging.