Swiss Francs

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.

A trio of double-A rated SSA names from South Korea, Central America and France tapped the Swiss franc market this week, raising a combined Sfr550m ($575.8m) and paving the way for other similar issuers to follow.

A shift in the Swiss franc-dollar basis swap has been enough to deter , foreign issuers from the Swiss bond market this week, leaving it to a Swiss biomedical market regular and a Liechtenstein-based power tool manufacturer.

A supranational and a Nordic bank paid rare visits to the Swiss franc market this week. The North American Development Bank (NADB) printed its first deal in two years — its second green bond — while Nordea returned after a five year absence.

Swiss franc bond spreads have failed to tighten as much as they have in the euro market, and the lack of price action meant few issuers ventured out this week. A trio of domestic deals comprised the only new supply.

German chemicals and consumer goods firm Henkel cleaned up in Swissies after a 24 year absence this week, while local company SGS ventured out further along the maturity curve.

Infrequent issuers are slowly returning to the Swiss franc market. During the past week, Eurofima brought its first Swissies deal in six years, while biotech firm Lonza printed its first bond in any currency since 2017.

Having dropped off in early March, Swiss franc issuance has bounced back in the last fortnight, buoyed by returning investors flocking to low investment-grade rated borrowers, like triple-B rated cement manufacturer LafargeHolcim, and piling into a record-breaking foreign covered bond.

Issuers and investors in the Swiss franc market are grappling with much wider spreads on domestic and foreign issuers because of the volatility around the coronavirus pandemic.

Green deals from Hypo Vorarlberg and Russian Railways were sold in Swiss francs this week in what were immensely tricky conditions. The market was awash with deals in January and February, but many feel the spread of coronavirus will bring a halt to the momentum moving into March.

Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemicals company, on Tuesday sold its first Swiss franc bond since being acquired by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) in 2017. But other mandated deals hang in the balance as the Covid-19 coronavirus spreads across Europe.

Russian Railways is embarking on a roadshow to market the first ever green Swiss franc bond from Russia, even as fears of the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus continue to infect EM bond trading.