Just one headline from Bloomberg, which says it all:
- HILDEBRAND RESIGNS
It is unclear which FX trading company he will join next. As expected, the entire politically charged campaign against Philipp was set to culminate with his departure. And now that the scapegoat is official, it may be time to revisit the EURCHF floor which will likely be the next to go.
EURCHF kneejerk:
[8]
Full release from SNB [9]:
Swiss National Bank Chairman, Philipp Hildebrand, resigns with immediate effect
Effective immediately, Philipp Hildebrand is resigning from his office as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank.
He will make a statement on his decision at 3.15 pm in the conference room of the Federal Parliament’s Media Centre, Bundesgasse 8, and will also make a number of documents available.
And Reuters with the recap:
Swiss central bank chief Philipp Hildebrand
resigned on Monday in the face of growing criticism of a controversial
currency trade made by his wife in August.
His resignation came
as he prepared to face Swiss parliamentarians in the aftermath of the
scandal, and as the bank employee sacked for leaking news of the trade
was reportedly committed to a psychiatric clinic after a suicide
attempt.
The Swiss franc rose as the Swiss National Bank
announced Hildebrand had gone. The SNB said Hildebrand would make a
statement at 1415 GMT and make available a number of documents.
"As we suggested last week his position was almost untenable and so it
has proved," said Tony Nyman of Informa Global Markets. "The Swiss franc
has actually gained on the news possibly due to hopes of increased
integrity ahead, but also market positioning too."
Hildebrand
has been fighting allegations of wrongdoing since details of the trade,
made just weeks before he capped the soaring franc, were leaked to a
political rival.
Hildebrand's wife Kashya, a former hedge fund
trader who now runs a Zurich art gallery, bought 400,000 Swiss francs
($418,000) worth of dollars on Aug. 15, three weeks before her husband
oversaw steps to cap the rise of the franc.
The scandal has
raised questions about transparency at the central bank, which initially
failed to publish its internal ethics codes, saying auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) had investigated the trade and found there
had been no misuse of privileged information.
Hildebrand
had been due to appear before the a parliamentary committee in the
afternoon alongside the head of the SNB's supervisory council, Hansueli
Raggenbass, who is also under pressure over the affair, which has
tarnished the central bank's reputation.
"For me, the absolutely key question is whether the central bank is still credible and can keep the cap on the franc," said