Swiss central bank chief's wife hit by franc swap scandal

Switzerland's central bank is embroiled in a political storm after it was revealed the wife of the governor sold 500,000 Swiss francs shortly before the authorities intervened to cap the value of the currency.

According to a report in the Times, an anonymous whistleblower has leaked details of transactions by Kashya Hildebrand, wife of the Swiss National Bank's chief Philipp Hildebrand.

Mrs Hildebrand reportedly used the francs to buy US dollars on 15 August, three weeks before the Swiss National Bank (SNB) intervened in the currency markets to put a cap on the value of the franc.

The SNB has subsequently criticised "unfounded rumours" about the Hildebrands' conduct, according to the report.

It says the couple have co-operated fully with an independent inquiry into their dealings by PwC, which concluded no wrongdoing had taken place.

The governor's wife is said to have netted a profit of some £51,000 from the trade.

The SNB capped the franc's minimum exchange rate at 1.20 to the euro in September, after it neared parity with the single currency at the height of the eurozone crisis.

Mrs Hildebrand is understood to have bought the dollars shortly before the announcement from the SNB it would intervene and do whatever was necessary to impose the minimum exchange rate.