By Lukas Wyss
In July 2017, BMW (Schweiz) AG closed a new public Swiss auto lease ABS transaction. The transaction features the issuance of €325m Class A Floating Rate Notes via BMW’s Luxembourg platform Bavarian Sky Europe S.A. (acting in respect of its Compartment Swiss Auto Leases 2). This was one of the first Swiss public ABS transactions issued in euros. As euro issuances normally attract more international investors, it was important that the transaction was structured so that no Swiss withholding tax is incurred on interest payments under the notes.
In November 2017, Valiant Bank AG has successfully placed a CHF250m covered bond with a 10-year term and carrying a coupon of 0.375%. The transaction was the first public covered bond issuance entirely structured under Swiss law with a Swiss guarantor. A second tranche of CHF500m covered bonds with a six-year term and carrying a coupon of 0.125% was placed in April 2018.
