The strong demand for UBS Group AG’s hotly-anticipated sale of additional tier 1 bonds is a positive sign for the market’s confidence in the bank and the Swiss financial system, according to UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti.
The deal was “one of the highlights you’ve seen in the last months,” Ermotti said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Thursday. The 63-year-old added he was “very pleased” with the demand for an instrument that markets until recently deemed “not invest-able.”
Read More: UBS Storms AT1 Market With First Sale Since Credit Suisse’s Fall
Switzerland’s biggest bank yesterday received some $36 billion of investor bids for its sale of AT1 bonds, its first issuance of the securities since Credit Suisse investors saw a writedown of about $17 billion of the debt as part of the emergency rescue brokered in March.
The new issuance will bolster UBS’s AT1 capital layer — an important buffer that helps banks comply with core capital requirements without relying solely on more expensive equity.
Read More: UBS’s Ermotti Targets More Billionaires After Credit Suisse Deal
--With assistance from Harry Suhartono, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Derek Wallbank.
