BdB Breaks into Switzerland

Banco do Brasil has become the latest LatAm credit to sell its first Swiss market bond, upsizing a transaction Tuesday to CHF275m ($303m) from a planned CHF200m. The 5.5-year bond was seen pricing 30bp through the government-controlled bank’s dollar curve. The Baa1/BBB/BBB borrower priced at 99.729 with a 2.50% coupon to yield 2.55%, or mid-swaps plus 190bp, in line with guidance of 190bp talk and IPT. The deal drew more than 50 accounts, with retail and private banking accounts participating and some institutional investors. Banco do Brasil, Credit Suisse and Commerzbank managed. Low rates versus USD have brought LatAm borrowers to the CHF market to raise $3.45bn-equivalent from 17 transactions so far this year, according to Dealogic. This total is well ahead of the previous record of $1.43bn in all of 2012. Banco do Brasil was also looking at a Japanese yen-denominated bond issue in the international market earlier this year, but the deal is expected to take more time due to Japanese investor concerns about the economic situations in both Brazil and Japan. Banco do Brasil, JPMorgan, Citi, Mizuho and Mitsubishi UFJ-Morgan Stanley are working on the euroyen transaction. The bank held non-deal fixed-income investor meetings in Asia in September with JPMorgan. CFO Ivan Monteiro told LatinFinance earlier this year the bank would focus on diversification of debt funding this year, with Japan and local LatAm currencies such as Chilean pesos among the options beyond euros and dollars.