Swiss bank chief in line for £600,000 payoff

Swiss National Bank chairman Philipp Hildebrand will receive a CHF900,000 (£615,000) payoff as he leaves the central bank following a scandal over his wife's currency trades.

The ‘golden goodbye’, which is equivalent to a year’s salary, covers his six month notice period and compensates him for being contractually bound not to work in another bank until January 2013. The news comes as doubts have emerged over how much Hildebrand knew about his wife’s affairs. The chairman released details of exchanges between himself, his wife Kashya and Felix Scheuber, their adviser at Bank Sarasin. According to the Telegraph, in a note dated 15 August, Scheuber described how Mr Hildebrand "would leave it up to his wife Kashya to decide" whether to buy dollars. Scheube...