A market index for western Switzerland

IPER 30 market index launched today

Today marks the launch of the IPER 30, an index designed to provide information on the regional economy by measuring real-time stockmarket performance in French-speaking Switzerland. The index is made up of 30 publicly traded companies and will be calculated by BCV's trading department. It is being launched in conjunction with Fribourg Cantonal Bank, Bilan magazine and the Vaud-Fribourg local TV station La Télé.

Lausanne, Switzerland, 24 September 2009 – A press conference will be held today to announce the 11am launch of the IPER 30 ( I ndice de P erformance des E ntreprises R omandes), the new market index for western Switzerland. The index, with a base level of 1,000 points, will be picked up by Bloomberg, Telekurs and Reuters. It will compile the market performance of 30 publicly traded companies that accurately represent the region: each company on the list is based in western Switzerland and employs fewer than 9,000 people. At the end of June 2009, the 30 companies had a combined market capitalization of CHF 24.3bn, or 34% of the SMIM (Swiss Market Index Mid Caps), and 43,700 employees (5% of jobs in French-speaking Switzerland).

This index is the latest in a series of economic indicators that cantonal banks in western Switzerland began publishing in recent years. Other indicators include periodic analyses of selected sectors of the economy and a GDP figure for western Switzerland as a whole as well as a cantonal GDP breakdown.

A team effort

The IPER 30 is the result of a partnership among BCV, Fribourg Cantonal Bank, Bilan magazine and La Télé, the new local television station for Vaud and Fribourg cantons. The index will be calculated and disseminated in real time every day on the websites of the two banks, reported on during La Télé news programs, and regularly written about in Bilan.

This index, which is based on a complex set of calculations and selection rules, will provide a means of assessing the health of the regional economy through the market performance of companies based here.

To see the IPER 30: www.iper30.ch

The press conference will be held at 10:30am at the Edipresse Tower, avenue de la Gare 33, Lausanne.

Visual identity:

Contact(s)

Christian Jacot-Descombes, Press Officer
Phone +41 79 816 99 30
E-mail

Anne Maillard, Head of Marketing & Communications at BCF
Phone +41 26 350 71 30
E-mail

Stéphane Benoit-Godet, Associate Editor-in-Chief, Bilan
Phone +41 79 217 15 83
E-mail

Christophe Rasch, General Manager of La Télé
Phone +41 79 214 33 36
E-mail