Swiss Francs

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.

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.

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.

Latin American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) raised Sfr350m ($382m) of five year paper on Monday with its first green bond issue in the Swiss franc market.

Latin American multilateral lender Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) could tap Swiss franc bond markets this week after mandating for a green bond.

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.

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.

Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) is planning to return to the Swiss franc bond market in the latter half of 2020 after an 18-month absence to refinance an upcoming redemption. Elsewhere, the Canton of Geneva returned to the market for the third time this month as it marches towards a record year on the capital markets.

Marex, a commodity and derivatives broker, has raised tier two capital in the Swiss franc market through a structured note, which it says is the first to combine a tier two host with an embedded structured product — in this case, exposure to the SMI, the Swiss equity market index.

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Ferring launched its first public bond on Thursday. The sector's prominent role during the coronavirus pandemic helped to drive up demand.

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.

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.