Leonteq AG (SIX: LEON) and Raiffeisen Switzerland Cooperative (Raiffeisen) announced today that they are extending their existing cooperation agreement in the area of structured products, which will run until 2026, by four years to 2030. In addition, they have refocused their cooperation and terminated the existing credit facility to take account of developments within the two companies to date.
The existing cooperation agreement between Leonteq and Raiffeisen in the area of structured products dates back to 2013 and was already extended by ten years in 2016. Raiffeisen is today one of Leonteq's largest white-labelling partners in terms of the volume of products outstanding.
As part of the strategic strengthening of its business, Raiffeisen is further expanding its pension and investment activities. In this context – and in addition to its cooperation with Leonteq – Raiffeisen plans to begin issuing, hedging and distributing some of its structured products itself via a new Raiffeisen platform in the second half of 2022. Leonteq will ensure that the new Raiffeisen platform is connected to Leonteq's existing service and technology platform. The extension of their cooperation until March 2030 is subject to the successful implementation of the technological connection by the first quarter of 2023.
Leonteq expects its annual net fee income to decrease by around 1% as a result of changes to the cooperation agreement and thus no material financial impact. At the same time, Leonteq will be able to further increase the proportion of its balance sheet-light business, in line with its strategic ambition.
Termination of guarantees and credit facility
Since 2019, Leonteq has had a stand-alone investment grade rating and it has significantly strengthened its capital position in recent years. As a result, all guarantees issued by Raiffeisen to Leonteq counterparties have been terminated over the last few years. The credit facility provided by Raiffeisen to Leonteq was also terminated at the end of September 2021, ahead of the agreed date. This will lead to a slight improvement in Leonteq's net interest result.
Roger Reist, Head of Corporate Clients, Treasury & Markets and a member of the Executive Committee of Raiffeisen Switzerland, said: "We are pleased to continue our successful cooperation, which has proved beneficial for both parties, and to extend it by a further four years once Raiffeisen's new platform is successfully connected to the Leonteq platform. With the expansion of our own product capabilities, we are creating new opportunities to meet the investment needs of our clients even more effectively. In doing so, we can continue to count on Leonteq's expertise as a longstanding and successful player in the Swiss and international market for structured products."
Lukas Ruflin, Chief Executive Officer of Leonteq, stated: "We are pleased to be extending our cooperation, which has been equally successful for Leonteq and for Raiffeisen. The adjusted framework of the agreement demonstrates how far Leonteq has come since we began partnering with Raiffeisen in 2013. It also underscores our position today as an established and independent service and technology provider. We are grateful to Raiffeisen for its support along the way and we look forward to continuing our collaboration."
Contact
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Leonteq Investor Relations
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LEONTEQ
Leonteq is a Swiss fintech company with a leading marketplace for structured investment solutions. Based on proprietary modern technology, the company offers derivative investment products and services and predominantly covers the capital protection, yield enhancement and participation product classes. Leonteq acts as both a direct issuer of its own products and as a partner to other financial institutions. Leonteq further enables life insurance companies and banks to produce capital-efficient, unit-linked pension products with guarantees. The company has offices and subsidiaries in 13 countries, through which it serves over 50 markets. Leonteq AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: LEON).
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