SWITZELAND'S HORN OF PLENTY OR ICY BLAST?
When the Swiss National Bank blew its Alpenhorn, the walls
protecting bank syndicates in the public bond market trembled and looked
ready to fall.
Overnight on May 29, the SNB abolished the distinction between
public issues and private placements. The Big Three Swiss banks have
always insisted on fixed membership of their public issue syndicates:
they were less fussy about private placement syndicates.
It was a small step by the central bank, but in theory it allowed
any bank, even a member of the mighty syndicate controlled by the Big
Three, to join any other syndicate for any denomination and any maturity
of bond beyond 18 months.
For the Big Three -- Union Bank of Switzerland, Swiss Bank
Corporation and Credit Suisse -- it offered a chance to extend their
syndicate control into the vacuum left by the private placements. But
the game may...
