2007 – a successful year for structured products

The fourth statistics-based market report of SSPA, the Swiss Structured Products Association, indicates that even a volatile market cannot impede the success of structured products.

Zurich, February 22, 2008. The 2007 turnover at SWX of structured products totaled CHF 75.36 billion, a 57 percent increase year on year (2006: CHF 47.98 billion). At the end of November, the structured product share in all Swiss bank deposits was CHF 346 billion – more than 15 percent higher that at the beginning of the year (January 2007: CHF 300 billion). Structured products account for 6.5 percent of all securities, including stocks and funds, deposited at Swiss banks (November 2006: 5.5 percent). The increase in structured products, from 10,742 to 21,174 in a single year, clearly shows that they are as attractive an investment opportunity as ever, regardless of the market’s current volatility. According to SSPA executive director Eric Wasescha, “One advantage of structured products is how quickly they can be created and issued, as issuers react promptly to changing conditions with products featuring risk-profit profiles appropriate to the times.”