The House of Representatives threw out bids to restrict the bank’s foreign currency deals and to set a minimum equity capital quota and keep current gold reserves unchanged.
Wednesday’s special debate was called in the wake of the resignation of the president of the central bank, Philipp Hildebrand, in January over controversial private currency transactions.
People’s Party parliamentarians lashed out against an allegedly toothless reform of internal central bank regulations on private financial transactions while other parties accused the rightwing of undermining the central bank.
Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf again defended Hildebrand’s currency policy of setting a minimum SFr1.20 ceiling against the euro last September.
She added that Hildebrand was a strong personality and had fortunately not been easily influenced by political parties.
“The SNB was and is able to act. Fortunately for our country, we have a strong institution,” she said.
Further discussions are scheduled in parliament on Thursday. On the same day, the central bank is due make a currency policy announcement.
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Central banker quits over private currency deal
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The government thanked him for his achievements as central bank governor, but his opponents in the rightwing Swiss People’s Party have accused the federal authorities of covering up and glossing over private currency speculation by senior bank members. Hildebrand told a news conference on Monday that his resignation was with immediate effect. He explained he…
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At the heart of the affair is the leaking of confidential bank data detailing foreign currency exchange transactions by Philipp Hildebrand’s family in breach of Swiss banking secrecy laws. Zurich police last week opened criminal investigations into two Swiss People’s Party cantonal parliamentarians allegedly involved in the transmission of the data to third parties. And…
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The regulations will be among the most restrictive of their kind at any central bank, the SNB council said. They come in the wake of a controversial foreign currency trade that resulted in the resignation of the former bank chairman Philipp Hildebrand. The central bank had pledged to tighten the rules in January following the…
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