History of Switzerland
Switzerland's most important exports during the war were precision machine tools, watches, jewel bearings (used in bombsights), electricity, and dairy products. During World War Two, the Swiss franc was the only remaining major freely convertible currency in the world, and both the Allies and the Germans sold large amounts of gold to the Swiss National Bank. Between 1940 and 1945, the German Reichsbank sold 1.3 billion francs worth of gold to Swiss Banks in exchange for Swiss francs and other foreign currency.
Philipp Hildebrand
Hildebrand is considered a driving force behind the pegging of the Swiss Franc to the Euro announced on 6 September 2011. The central bank commits to undertake transactions to cap the value of the franc against the euro at a maximum of 1.20. In early August, the euro fell to near parity, at 1.00749, against the franc. After initial cautious reactions by analysts, the decision of the Swiss National Bank to aim to keep the Swiss Franc: Euro rate above 1.20 is considered to have been a success.