Swiss Francs

MSC Cruises, the largest European cruise company by number of employees, offered its first public bond to the Swiss market on Thursday. Though bonds from unlisted, private companies can be difficult to sell, a tempting yield and a thorough roadshow encouraged retail investors to hop on board.

The Province of New Brunswick on Friday broke Canadian sub-sovereigns' silence in the Swiss market, printing well above its minimum size target despite choppy conditions.

Tanner Servicios Financieros reignited Chilean issuers' involvement in the Swiss franc bond market on Wednesday by issuing a Sfr150m ($151.7m) three year note.

The Canton of Geneva has offered a 40 year bond to the Swiss market, the longest public sector, non-government bond ever in the Swiss market.

Bawag PSK became the first bank to print a senior unsecured note offering a negative yield in Swiss market history this Wednesday. Swiss bankers wonder how the small A3 rated Austrian borrower managed to sneak into the record books.

Swiss investors, who have shunned Austrian bank bonds for three years, have suddenly changed their minds and bought three deals in the last few weeks, with Bawag PSK the latest. An end to the wrangling over the resolution of Hypo Alpe Adria has been helpful, writes Silas Brown.

Bawag PSK offered a Sfr175m five year note to yield hungry Swiss investors on Wednesday, becoming the third Austrian bank to offer short dated, but positive yielding bonds to Swiss investors in the last few weeks.

Sonova’s voice was heard on Thursday when it offered an age-defining, odds-defying triple tranche whopper to the Swiss market. All of the Sfr760m ($787.2m) paper matures within five years, half of the paper offers negative yields and none of it left Switzerland.

Pfandbriefbank Schweizerischer Hypothekarinstitute placed on Tuesday a dual tranche deal in Swiss francs. The shorter tranche was fashioned into a 12 year clip to entice investors looking for positive yield.

McDonald’s offered a Sfr400m ($413.6m) eight year trade to the Swiss market on Monday, closing the deal with an order book exceeding Sfr1.5bn and tightening pricing by more than the lead managers had expected.

New funding possibilities in the Swiss franc bond market for lower rated issuers have been opened up by a ground-breaking Sfr300m issue for YPF, the Argentine state oil company, writes Silas Brown.

The Prince of Liechtenstein's wealth and asset management firm, LGT Group, offered a 10 year bond to the Swiss market on Monday in an attempt to extend to its curve.