Lombard loans in Switzerland.
Private credit against Switzerland-listed shares — pledged, not sold, with ownership retained.
A Lombard loan against Switzerland-listed shares is credit secured by a pledge of equity listed on the SIX. The holder pledges the shares as collateral, draws cash against a fraction of their market value, keeps beneficial ownership and dividends subject to structuring, and recovers the position in full on repayment. Known locally in some markets as “Lombardkredit”, the instrument is the same: a loan secured by a pledge of listed shares.
- Lombard loans are arranged against shares listed on the SIX (SIX).
- The pledge is not a sale: ownership, dividends, and the upside stay with the holder.
- Loan-to-value is calibrated to the specific position, funded in CHF or cross-currency.
- Structured under the FINMA regime, with disclosure from 3%.
Eligible collateral and venues
Lombard Financing arranges facilities against equity listed on the principal Switzerland venue: SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX). Eligibility at the position level turns on the liquidity and free float of the specific line, its volatility, and the size of the holding relative to its typical traded volume — the same variables that drive the loan-to-value.
Regulator and disclosure
Shares listed in Switzerland are regulated by Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA). Substantial-shareholding disclosure is triggered from 3%, and a pledge over a large line is structured with that reporting regime in view so that the transaction remains discreet and compliant. Where a holding sits near a control or takeover threshold, the structure is arranged to avoid disturbing the position.
Funding, custody, and structuring
Facilities are typically arranged for a tenor of twelve to thirty-six months, funded in CHF or in another currency on a cross-currency basis. Throughout the facility the pledged shares are held by a qualified custodian under bankruptcy-remote arrangements, so the security is clean and the holder’s ownership is preserved. Non-recourse, limited-recourse, and full-recourse structures are available, and the choice interacts with the loan-to-value and the pricing.
| Listing venue(s) | SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX) |
|---|---|
| Regulator | Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht (FINMA) |
| Currency | CHF (cross-currency available) |
| Disclosure threshold | From 3% substantial-holding disclosure |
| Principal indices | SMI, SLI, SPI |
| Indicative tenor | 12–36 months, renewable by agreement |
| Recourse | Non-recourse / limited-recourse / full-recourse |
Considering a Lombard loan against a Switzerland-listed position?
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On this market, specifically.
Disclosure and regulation
Switzerland is our home market, and the Lombard loan is a Geneva tradition — the very word Lombard descends from the merchant-bankers whose craft the private banks here refined. A pledge of SIX-listed shares leaves ownership and the vote with the client; disclosure turns on FINMA rules under FMIA Article 120, where a significant holder reports at 3%, 5% and higher steps up to 66.67%. Because a Lombard advance does not itself shift beneficial ownership, it usually sits below that machinery. For a client near a threshold, we document the credit so that even an unwind respects Swiss disclosure and the discretion this market is known for.
An illustrative example
By way of illustration, a private client with CHF 60 million in a large-cap SIX position — say one of the pharmaceutical or food names that anchor the SMI — might arrange a Lombard loan at 50% loan-to-value, inside our published 20–65% range, providing roughly CHF 30 million of liquidity. The holding stays in the client's name, dividends and voting rights continue, and nothing is sold. The advance can be drawn in Swiss francs or in the currency where the family's commitments lie. The figures are rounded and hypothetical, sketching the shape of a facility rather than any quoted terms.
Illustrative only — not an offer, a quotation, or a commitment to lend.