MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay issues Swiss franc bonds for the first time

This placement “reflects the confidence of investors in the institutional soundness of the country,” Oddone argued

Uruguay issued sovereign bonds in Swiss francs for the first time Thursday, totaling 320 million (about US$400 million) to help finance a US$6 billion fiscal deficit in 2025. The bonds, with five- and ten-year terms, carry an average annual interest rate of 1.33%. Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone highlighted the favorable interest rates and noted that Uruguay was the only Latin American country currently issuing bonds in this currency, tapping into a market of high-quality investors.

“This is important”, said Oddone, “because Switzerland is a market where regular investors are of high quality and this is a club to which Uruguay intends to belong.”

“It is a new market with a type of client that was interested in attending,” he added.

Uruguay has already issued US$2,800 million worth of bonds throughout 2025 in “an important diversification of currencies,” Oddone further explained.

This operation will give President Yamandú Orsi's government “greater financial flexibility for cost optimization and liability management in the future,” insisted the minister.

This placement “reflects the confidence of investors in the institutional soundness of the country, and is an endorsement of the policy framework that this new administration plans to implement,” he went on. The last bond issuance by a Latin American country in the Swiss market was undertaken by Argentina in 2017. Currently, “there is no issuance by a Latin American country in Swiss francs,” Oddone noted.

The issuance, facilitated by BNP Paribas and UBS, reflects investor confidence in Uruguay’s institutional framework and supports the government’s strategy to diversify financing sources and optimize costs.