The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it bought foreign currency totalling 25.8 billion Swiss francs ($26.91 billion) at the end of last year as part of a bid to defend the currency before abandoning a peg, it said in its annual report on Thursday. "Upward pressure on the Swiss franc intensified in 2014 and, towards the end of the year, the euro approached the minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs per euro," the 2014 report said. "In order to enforce it, the SNB conducted foreign exchange transactions and purchased foreign currency with a countervalue of 25.8 billion Swiss francs." The SNB shocked markets in January ... (full story)