Credit Suisse Xmtch, the Swiss bank’s exchange traded fund business, has expanded into Germany with a raft of new launches.

The ETF platform has listed 16 equity, inflation linked and government bond ETFs on the Deutsche Börse - the German stock exchange - taking effect on 25 November.

This launch follows Xmtch’s release of 17 ETFs to the Italian market in October in what was the bank's first expansion of its ETF business into another country. Gerhard Fusenig, Credit Suisse head of Asset Management for the EMEA region, said in a statement that the German and Italian listings are only the beginning of a gradual expansion across European and global markets.

“Difficult market conditions over the past 18 months have led to a greater demand from investors for beta products. Credit Suisse has a diversified range of ETFs which can be used as part of a balanced portfolio and over time we will steadily expand our range by adding local equity indices, commodities and alternative investment strategies,” said Oliver Schupp, head of beta strategies at Credit Suisse.

ETFs, which are listed and traded like individual stocks, have expanded rapidly in recent years, boosted by such advantages as their low expense ratios, lack of stamp duty taxes in certain jurisdictions, high liquidity and ability to give clients access to hitherto hard-to-enter sectors. Prominent ETF firms include Lyxor, part of SocGen; iShares, part of Barclays Global Investors; and Deutsche Bank.