Hildebrand’s wife Kashya, a former hedge fund trader who now runs a Zurich art gallery, bought 400,000 Swiss francs worth of dollars on Aug. 15, three weeks before her husband oversaw steps to cap the rise of the safe-haven franc. She later sold the dollars at a higher rate.
The SNB’s supervisory council said on Monday Vice Chairman Thomas Jordan, who joined the SNB in 1997, would take over as chairman for the time being, with the Swiss government expected to confirm him soon in the postion permanently.
Jordan, who received his doctorate from the University of Berne and did postgraduate work at Harvard, headed the financial markets unit and for the past two years has overseen the regulatory department, which is pushing for flagship banks UBS and Credit Suisse to solidify their balance sheets.
Jordan said on Monday he is prepared to take the top job on a permanent basis if the government asks him to do so and stressed his determination to enforce the 1.20 per euro cap on the franc that the SNB imposed on Sept.