His wife Kashya's questionable currency deals (Kashya Hildebrand used Swiss francs from the couple's joint account to purchase $500,000 just as the franc reached a record high, and only three weeks before her husband took measures to effectively devalue the franc) have cost him his job, and raised serious questions about his judgement.
But behind the headlines lies a much murkier tale of political intrigue.
Philipp Hildebrand, who took up his post in 2010, aged 46, was the youngest ever head of the SNB.
He began his job just as the Swiss financial sector looked to be recovering from a major financial crisis. Over-exposure to sub-prime mortgages had brought Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, to the brink of ruin; it was only rescued by a government bailout.
Mr Hildebrand was instrumental in creating new "too big to fail" legislation requiring Swiss banks to reduce risk, and to hold more capital. It was a move which found favour in government circles, but earned him enemies among Switzerland's banking elite.
At the same time, pressure was growing on Switzerland to relax its strict banking secrecy and to hand over tax revenue owed to the US and European countries by their citizens who had put money in Swiss banks in the hope of evading tax.
Here again, Mr Hildebrand indicated he would like to see more openness from the banks - his stance aroused the anger of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, one of the staunchest defenders of banking secrecy.
European ties
Relations with Europe also became a stick with which to beat Switzerland's top banker.
Mr Hildebrand publicly acknowledged that the success of the Swiss economy was bound up with that of Europe's, and called for more openness and integration from non-EU Switzerland in its relations with Brussels.
This enraged the Swiss People's Party, which has long campaigned against closer ties with the EU.
When Mr Hildebrand announced a ceiling for the Swiss franc against the euro, in an attempt to protect Switzerland's export markets in the face of a soaring franc (60% of Swiss exports go to the EU) the People's Party accused him of trying to take Switzerland into the eurozone by the back door.
This despite the fact that Swiss business leaders, facing reduced orders and disappearing profits, had been begging the SNB to intervene.
Political sour grapes?
In fact, from the moment Mr Hildebrand took office, the People's Party has campaigned against him. Its charismatic leader, Christoph Blocher, made no secret of his contempt for the SNB's new chairman, suggesting he was too young and inexperienced for the job.
Some political commentators have suggested simple jealousy may also partly explain Mr Blocher's stance. Political sour grapes? » | Imogen Foulkes, BBC News, Geneva | Tuesday, January 10, 2012
DIE WELTWOCHE: Editorial – Hildebrands Geschäfte: Ein spekulierender NotenbankChef ist ein Sicherheitsrisiko. Die Medien spielen eine dubiose Rolle. » | Von Roger Köppel | Mittwoch 11. Januar 2012
