Swiss central bank chief resigns after scandal

Swiss National Bank chairman Philipp Hildebrand has resigned with immediate effect in light of a controversial currency trade made by his wife last August.

The Swiss central bank said Hildebrand would make a statement at 14:15 GMT as well as making "a number of documents" available. The Swiss franc strengthened against the euro to a four-month high of €1.2108 on the news. The central bank chief had been under pressure after an anonymous whistleblower revealed that his wife, a former hedge fund trader, bought CHF400,000 worth of US dollars on 15 August last year. The trade came just three weeks before the SNB announced it would defend a floor for the franc at CHF1.20 to the euro, a move which saw the franc's value drop sharply. Safe ha...