Philipp Hildebrand, the president of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), did not make any unauthorised transactions ahead of the announcement of the minimum franc-euro rate on September 6, according to a bank commission investigating rumours against him.
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In a statement on Friday, the SNB said there had been no misuse of privileged information. The bank commission based its judgment on a thorough investigation carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
The investigators had checked all bank transactions of Hildebrand and his family in 2011, the SNB said.
The investigation was triggered by persistent rumours that the SNB president had illicitly gained from the introduction of the minimum exchange rate in September.
The SNB said two transactions in particular had needed to be investigated: a purchase of an unspecified quantity of dollars by Hildebrand’s wife on August 15 and a “small” dollar payment to his daughter’s account. However, Hildebrand had declared both payments immediately.
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