Swiss central bank head stands firm

The chairman of the Swiss central bank has said he will not quit.

A defiant Philipp Hildebrand told reporters he saw no reason to resign over a controversial currency trade carried out by his wife.

Three weeks before the Swiss National Bank imposed a cap on the safe-haven Swiss franc against the euro, Hildebrand’s wife bought 400,000 francs worth of dollars.

Some right wing politicians complained the bank’s reputation has been tarnished but analyst Jean-Pierre Beguelin thinks it will all blow over quickly: “It’s always pretty difficult to manage common affairs involving a husband and wife who are acting independently. The case is unfortunate for the Swiss National Bank, but I think that fundamentally it is a storm in a teacup.”

The Swiss government and the bank council have cleared Hildebrand of any wrongdoing.

In the sale and subsequent repurchase of the money his wife made reportedly a profit of around 60,000 Swiss francs (50,000 euros).

He said he knew nothing about the transaction until after it had taken place: “It’s very clear that this transaction was ordered by my wife and there’s an email to prove it.”

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