7. Philipp Hildebrand: Understanding the Banks
The then-central banker later recounted how UBS Chairman Kurer and CEO Rohner had broken the news in Hildebrand’s home, over breakfast: they «basically told us that they needed help». The appeal culminated in the unprecedented October 16 rescue package. «UBS does not have time. We are here for eternity,» was the SNB’s view.
A top UBS banker, years later, had an unkinder read: Philipp Hildebrand had strong-armed UBS into accepting the bailout mainly to bolster his own standing. UBS bought back the so-called Stabfund – for stabilizing undesirable assets – five years later. By that time, Hildebrand had already been forced to leave the central bank top job following his wife’s foreign currency dealings. Today, he is in top management at Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager. His legacy in Swiss banking are far tougher: the too-big-to-fail rules, which come into full effect next year.
