Swiss central bank chief's wife apologises

The wife of Switzerland's former central bank chief said the currency deal that cost her husband his job was "my idea" and apologised to the nation. "What breaks my heart is that his credibility is now being stained," Kashya Hildebrand said in an interview on Swiss television. "There was an error of judgment. He should have never let me do that transaction, and upon reflection, that transaction should have been reversed." Philipp Hildebrand, 48, stepped down on January 9, saying he couldn't prove conclusively that the August 15 purchase of $504,000 (Dh1.54 million) was initiated by his wife rather than himself. The Swiss National Bank on September 6 imposed a franc ceiling of 1.20 versus the euro to protect the economy, sending the single currency and the dollar higher. Kashya Hildebrand said it was "obviously a mistake," when apologising for the "maelstrom I caused for this country." Article continues below "I really — from the bottom of my heart — I apologise to the Swiss people, to the politicians who have been distracted from what's important and more importantly to my husband because he's a great man, he's done a great job," she said. In August, "the far right was making the headlines, there was pressure on my husband to lose his job, the last thing that man was thinking about was his private portfolio."