ZKB

Switzerland's cantonal banks enjoyed an open window this week thanks to Pfandbriefzentrale's extended stint away from the market. Elsewhere, the Canton of Zurich was able to harness the lack of sub-sovereign supply to land at an aggressive level versus govvies.

Swiss technology firm Comet served up a niche sub-investment grade bond to high net worth investors this week, issuing a 1.3% Sfr60m ($64m) five year.

Julius Baer ventured into the Swiss franc market this week to sell its debut operating company bond, raising Sfr260m ($276.9m) in an investor diversification exercise. It was joined by Pfandbriefzentrale, which saw demand skewed to the long and short ends of its latest multi-tranche covered bond offering.

Bank Julius Baer, the operating company arm of the private Swiss bank, has mandated for its inaugural bond, marking the first time this name has issued at an opco level. At the same time, Pfandbriefzentrale raised Sfr926m ($990.6m) with a new three part covered bond.

A flurry of Swiss franc issuance dusted the market this week, as domestic and foreign borrowers entered a more settled market.

Grid operator Transpower New Zealand returned to the Swissie market this week, landing through its outstanding curve while offering a small premium over Swissgrid.

BNP Paribas returned to the Swiss franc market to land a new senior non-preferred issue slightly inside its euro curve this week. In recent weeks, several foreign borrowers have tapped the market and, with tightening levels looking attractive, bankers are confident more could follow.

A pair of triple-A rated European agencies sold their first Swiss franc bonds for several years this week, responding to reverse enquiry for long dated, high rated paper.

Swiss franc bond investors are pursuing high quality issues, with Münchener Hypothekenbank harnessing this demand to price a tap of its green preferred senior bond 12bp through fair value this week.

After a near two year absence, Deutsche Bahn pulled into the Swiss franc market to issue 15 year debt with no new issue premium this week, landing inside its own euro curve.

Raiffeisen Schweiz kicked off its 2021 funding year with an opportunistic Swiss franc dual tranche bail-in bond on Wednesday, landing about 10bp tighter than where it debuted last October.

Flughafen Zürich sold its first deal this week since it lost its double-A rating in July, finding the opportunity to price a Sfr200m bond at an “aggressive” level.