Although the primary market in September, with fresh bonds totaling around 8 billion Swiss francs in nominal value (excluding Confederation bonds), recorded a lower aggregate issuance volume compared to the extraordinary previous month, issuers, lead and syndicate banks, and investors alike can be satisfied.

The Swiss capital market is functioning well, even in a challenging geopolitical environment. On the one hand, it remains an important and reliable source of debt capital for companies and other issues, thereby fulfilling an essential macroeconomic function - usually unspectacularly, but efficiently. On the other hand, it offers institutional investors (pension funds, insurers, funds, etc.) a wide variety of relatively safe investment opportunities, albeit with limited upside potential typical of bonds.

Swiss Corporates Step In

In the domestic segment, issuers included corporates such as Bobst, Straumann, Amag Leasing (dual tranche), Siegfried, Implenia, Sonova, and the newly formed Cham Swiss Properties with its debut bond. Utilities were also active with BKW, Groupe E (dual tranche) and Akeb - Aktiengesellschaft für Kernenergie-Beteiligungen (dual tranche).

Federalism is still alive in the capital market: the cities of Geneva and Bern as well as the cantons of Solothurn, Geneva (triple tranche), and Ticino tapped the market. In addition, state banks from four cantons (Jura, Schaffhausen, Vaud, and Valaise) were active. Alongside the two Pfandbrief institutions, which together with the Confederation form the trio of permanent market participants, Swiss Life also entered the market with a Tier 2 bond callable after ten years.

The Whole World as a Guest in Switzerland

The issuance activity of foreign borrowers was somewhat clearer. The Republic of Austria, a regular visitor again for some time, launched both a Green Bond and a conventional bond without a sustainability label. Hochtief (making its debut), Bayer (dual tranche), and Daimler Truck Finance offered a range of corporate papers.

Quasi-sovereign issuers were also well represented: Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, Municipality Finance, New Zealand Local Government Funding Agency, and the Supra International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). Additional variety came from Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro with a Green Bond from Chile and from Financials Crédit Agricole (subordinated, Senior Non Preferred), Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel, and Commerzbank.

A Record Year for the Capital Market Annals?

The capital markets team at Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) raised the question in its newsletter whether the momentum of recent months will continue into the final quarter, nothing that October and November are historically strong issuance month, while December is traditionally weak. The answer will also be of interest to the competing capital markets teams at other banks vying for mandates. Should the pace continue, 2025 could go down as a record year in the history of the Swiss primary market.

In line with this, SIX published secondary market figures on Wednesday, showing an 8.2 percent increase in bond trading year-on-year, with a total of almost 97 billion francs in nominal value traded between January and September 2025. 

From an economic perspective, however, the key point is that the bond market remains a reliable refinancing source for domestic issuers, rather than the month-to-month fluctuations in issuance volumes.