Switzerland

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.

UBS Group opened books on new additional tier one (AT1) on Wednesday, as it looked to hoover up demand from yield-starved investors in the Reg S dollar market.

Credit analysts hope that European banks will be able to report much stronger capital levels in the second quarter, amid early signs that risk-weighted asset (RWA) volumes could be lower than expected.

Booming markets revenues in the second quarter helped UBS post another strong set of results at its investment bank. But higher loan loss charges ate into group-level profits as the coronavirus crisis led to deterioration in the global economic outlook.

The Swiss government has recently approved draft amendments to its Pfandbrief law that will increase transparency and legal certainty, reducing the risk of a fire sale and payment default.

Unrated Swiss private railway operator Rhätische Bahn, owner of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Bernina railway, made its second stop in the Swiss franc bond market this week, four years after its debut deal.

CNP Assurances and Helvetia Europe have added to issuance momentum in the insurance sector, giving investors the chance to put money into subordinated capital. The tier two bonds showed that ‘the market is back in shape’, said one deal arranger.

Shares in Meyer Burger Technology, the Swiss developer of solar panel technology, surged by more than 26% on Monday morning after the company unveiled plans for a Sfr165m capital increase to accelerate its plans for an expansion its own cell and module production capacity.

The owners of SoftwareOne, the Swiss software company that went public in October last year, have taken advantage of the rally of the share price in recent weeks to sell Sfr382.5m of stock, via an accelerated bookbuild.

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.

Helvetia Holding, the Swiss insurance group, has raised Sfr300m from equity investors to fund its acquisition of Spanish insurer Caser, which it announced in January.

Ina Invest Holding, the real estate development unit of Swiss construction and property management company Implenia, has begun trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange following its spinoff from its parent.