Swiss Franc Roundtable (January 2024)
The Swiss franc bond market has seen an impressive return to form over the last 18 months. It produced a bumper crop of deals in 2023, with Sfr66bn issued, surpassing the Sfr60bn of 2022. As interest rates have risen, offering investors positive yields, spreads remained tight, making the market attractive to issuers from all corners. Falling interest rates and widening spreads may stifle enthusiasm but hopes remain high that there will be similar volumes in 2024.
Against this backdrop, GlobalCapital gathered a group of borrowers, investors and bankers in Zurich at the end of 2023 to share their views on the revival and what the future holds for the Swiss franc bond market.
Roundtable participants
| Paolo Bortolin, deputy CFO, City of Lugano |
| Sven Bucher, director, Pfandbriefzentrale |
| Rosario Clemente, head of debt capital markets Switzerland, Deutsche Bank |
| Benjamin Heck, debt capital markets origination, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) |
| Jens Hellerup, head of funding and investor relations, Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) |
| Yannick Linck, head of medium and long term funding / derivatives officer, SNCF |
| Sven Ost, manager debt capital markets, Mercedes-Benz |
| Clemens Rich, head of Swiss franc fixed income, UBS AM |
| Sophie Astles, head of awards and research, niche currency reporter, GlobalCapital (moderator) |
| Ralph Sinclair, London bureau chief, GlobalCapital (moderator) |