Switzerland

Better late than never. After a sluggish start to the year, international activity in the Swiss franc market finally began in mid-week when Westpac priced the first Australian covered bond in Swissies since a Sfr200m National Australia Bank (NAB) trade in January 2014.

Barry Callebaut, the chocolate company headquartered in Switzerland, has launched a triple tranche Schuldschein a month after a roadshow for a sustainable bond failed to produce a public market result.

As central banks retreat from public markets, spreads are widening in dollars and euros, and cross-currency basis swaps are improving for international borrowers, Swiss bankers believe the good times might be returning to a market once known the world over for diversification and arbitrage.

Goldman Sachs International conducted business with Lars Windhorst, the colourful German financier, despite warnings from its compliance department that he was a high risk counterparty.

Santhera Pharmaceuticals, the Swiss speciality pharmaceuticals company, has launched a Sfr77m fundraising following the release of its latest earnings statement on Wednesday morning.

Shares in Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, the Swiss-listed maker of gastro-intestinal drugs, plummeted by 16% on Thursday after it had launched a €175m convertible bond on Wednesday evening, after market close.

Zur Rose, the Swiss online pharmacy, has completed its Sfr200m ($200.8m) at-market rights issue to fund the acquisition of a German e-commerce platform, following the sale of a rump placement on Wednesday evening.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association on Tuesday said the derivatives industry seemed to have broadly agreed on a method of calculating replacement rates, known as fallback rates, for interbank offered rates (Ibors), in case those rates stop being calculated.

Fundamenta Real Estate, the Swiss housing developer, has fixed the terms for its Sfr91.5m re-IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange, which is expected to value the company at Sfr375m.

Zur-Rose, the Swiss retail pharmacy, has set the terms on its Sfr200m new share issuance, to fund the acquisition of Medpex’s e-commerce activities.

Gunvor, the Swiss energy and commodities trading company, has signed a $1.68bn revolving credit facility, having increased it during syndication as lenders piled into the transaction.

UBS Group bagged S$700m ($509m) from a Basel III compliant additional tier one deal, adding to a growing list of European lenders that have turned to the Singapore dollar bond market to boost their capital.