Corp Bonds - Swiss franc
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Strong demand allows grid operator to tighten price and land inside fair value
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All Swiss franc new issues are set to switch over to the market’s new risk-free rate after the summer break, local syndicate desks have announced.
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Kantonsspital Graubünden sold a successful debut bond on Thursday, surprising bankers as it slipped in before the summer break.
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Gazprom ended a three year absence from the Swiss franc market this week by attracting a large amount of retail participation in a Sfr600m ($653.4m) deal that launched at an attractive spread.
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Gazprom is set to access the Swiss franc market this week to sell its first trade in the currency for over three years.
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Intershop Holding hit the market on Wednesday for a Sfr100m ($110.5m) no-grow five year green bond — its first outing in the format.
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Triple-B credit OC Oerlikon achieved a remarkable result on Monday, said bankers, as it issued a Sfr575m three tranche deal, which it will use to fund its acquisition of INglass. It was joined on screens by Pfandbriefbank's smallest deal since 2019.
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Despite paying a chunky new issue premium, Deutsche Bahn was still able to score some attractive arbitrage with its latest Swiss franc deal this week, and with favourable pricing on offer for foreign names, bankers are confident more could follow.
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Damien Aellen has been promoted to co-head of Credit Suisse’s Swiss franc bond syndicate desk.
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Russian Railways ventured into the Swiss franc market this week to sell the first hybrid corporate bond in over two years, a sign of a maturing Swissie market, according to local market participants.
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Verizon Communications, the US telecoms group, embarked on an almost $3bn niche currency bond issuing spree this week, which included the largest foreign Swiss franc bond since early 2018.
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A flurry of Swiss franc issuance dusted the market this week, as domestic and foreign borrowers entered a more settled market.
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Grid operator Transpower New Zealand returned to the Swissie market this week, landing through its outstanding curve while offering a small premium over Swissgrid.
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The rally in Swiss fixed income over the last year allowed Geneva Airport to price a new 10 year deal this week 70bp tighter than where it printed a three year deal last April.
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Fonplata, the South American supranational development bank, raised Sfr200m of 5.5-year bonds in the Swiss franc market on Wednesday, increasing the size of the deal from an initially planned Sfr150m. Alongside this, a clutch of domestic borrowers also tapped the market this week.
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Swiss franc bond investors are pursuing high quality issues, with Münchener Hypothekenbank harnessing this demand to price a tap of its green preferred senior bond 12bp through fair value this week.
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After a near two year absence, Deutsche Bahn pulled into the Swiss franc market to issue 15 year debt with no new issue premium this week, landing inside its own euro curve.
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Raiffeisen Schweiz kicked off its 2021 funding year with an opportunistic Swiss franc dual tranche bail-in bond on Wednesday, landing about 10bp tighter than where it debuted last October.
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Foreign central bank action sparked arbitrage opportunities in Swiss francs to shrink in 2020, so investors took a more domestic approach. As foreign issuance dries up, so too do Swissie mandates for international desks. Frank Jackman reports.
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Flughafen Zürich sold its first deal this week since it lost its double-A rating in July, finding the opportunity to price a Sfr200m bond at an “aggressive” level.
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Ford shrugged off its loss of investment grade status to return to the Swiss franc market this week after a 19 year absence to print a three year deal targeted at private bank investors.
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Ford is set to pull into the Swiss franc bond market after a 19 year absence, having appointed a trio of banks to commence investor calls ahead of a potential deal.
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Ronald Hinterkircher, who is retiring from the Swiss franc bond market after a 40 year career, has told GlobalCapital that digitalisation and the possible removal of the withholding tax for foreign investors could change the market over the next few years. But with the European Central Bank propping up the euro bond market, arbitrage opportunities for international companies in Swiss francs are vanishingly slim.
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Givaudan and Nant de Drance attracted big order books this week, driven by demand from asset managers, allowing both to price Swiss franc bonds through fair value.
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Syngenta, the agricultural chemical and seed company, returned to the Swiss franc market this week for its second Swissie bond of the year — a blowout three year deal that surpassed the market’s expectations.
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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the pan-African development finance institution, has held investor calls ahead of its first green bond issue that Swiss franc bankers expect to launch next week.
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Swisscom raised Sfr100m ($110m) on Thursday with an 11 year bond sold without the involvement of an intermediary bank. The company worked with Swiss fintech company Valyo to issue the bond through its platform that directly connects issuers and investors.
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Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli sold the week’s tastiest Swiss franc deal when it returned to the market on Tuesday to refinance an upcoming Sfr500m ($549.8m) redemption.
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Crédit Agricole’s Swiss subsidiary sold its first structured covered bond in Swiss francs on Wednesday. The bond was issued under a new programme that differentiates it from covered bonds issued by its parent bank under French law in the Swiss market.
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Latin American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) issued Sfr350m ($382m) of five year paper on Monday with its first green bond in the Swiss franc market. Primary issuance in Swiss bonds has been slim over the past few weeks, though there are signs of a pick up through the rest of August.
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Despite the coronavirus crisis and uncertainty about the November US election, the Swiss franc market is feeling optimistic for the second half of the year, expecting a strong run of issuance until late autumn.
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The Swiss franc market is having a busy year, with a strong showing from corporate and SSA issuers helping the market to its highest year to date volume since 2015, according to Dealogic.
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Pharmaceutical manufacturer Ferring launched its first public bond on Thursday. The sector's prominent role during the coronavirus pandemic helped to drive up demand.
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Pharmaceutical company Ferring is preparing to launch its first public bond, having mandated banks on Monday to lead investor calls ahead of a potential Swiss franc trade.
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Hyundai pulled into the Swiss franc bond market this week with a three-year green deal that was priced with a substantial new issue premium (NIP). Elsewhere, nuclear energy provider AKEB sold one of the highest yielding bonds of recent weeks.
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A wide gamut of deals across asset classes filtered through the Swiss franc market this week. Gyrations in swaps allowed Crédit Agricole to come flat on euros on Thursday, while also giving investors a great deal on a long end Lausanne trade.