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Dati di Lugano

Where Lugano's debt stands, where the city's own plan takes it, and how it is financed. Every figure comes from a public document of the City of Lugano, the Canton of Ticino, or the public listing of the city's bonds.

Figures up to Q1 2026 · budget 2027 · plan to 2033 How these figures were sourced Bond register as of 15 October 2026 Amounts in CHF millions unless stated
Gross financial debt, Q1 2026 CHF1’123.4M +73.5M since end of 2025 (1’049.9M)
Net debt, Q1 2026 CHF1’033.9M Gross debt minus cash and deposits
Operating result 2025 +23.7M Budgeted: −24.0M
Net debt per resident, 2024 CHF10’302 Very high 96th of Ticino's 106 municipalities
Credit rating (Moody's) Aa3 Stable outlook. Confirmed October 2025 and again April 2026
Debt path

Debt rises through 2030 before the plan brings it down

Buying the Arena Sportiva and the Palazzetto dello Sport makes 2026 the main borrowing year. The city's financial plan expects debt to peak at 1’356.3M in 2030, then fall to 1’152.7M by 2033 through asset sales and a budget correction. Even at the end of the plan, debt stays above its 2025 level.

The City gives plan figures only for the years shown. Lines between them are straight connections, not yearly values.

Bond book

CHF 1’120M in 11 bonds, mostly long-dated

ISINCouponMaturityVolumeTypeMarket price

This page does not show bond prices or yields. For live quotes, follow the SIX link next to each listed bond.

Canton of Ticino indicators

How Lugano compares with Ticino's 106 municipalities

The canton publishes the same eight indicators for every municipality. These are the latest available, for 2024. Ranks and medians compare Lugano only with the other municipalities of Ticino, not with the rest of Switzerland; rank 1 is the best value in Ticino. The ratings (very high, weak, …) are fixed thresholds that the canton says apply across cantons.

Indicator2024Canton ratingRank in TicinoTicino median2023

About 2023 self-financing (501.6%). In 2023 the city booked one-off investment receipts equal to 91% of its investment spending, so net investment was only 6.9M and the ratio is not meaningful. The 2023 total result of +12.4M also rests on 15.0M of one-off revenue; the ordinary result was −2.7M.

Budget 2027 · published 15 October 2026

A smaller deficit than the plan expected

Operating resultThe 2026–2033 plan expected −19.5M−14.7M
Net investmentIncludes part of the remaining PalaRaiffeisen payment97.0M
Self-financingCovers 17% of net investment16.6M
Borrowing need (risultato globale)Increase in public debt in 2027−80.4M
Tax revenueIndividuals 221.0M, companies 51.0M, against 286.7M to be covered by taxes272.0M
Municipal tax multiplierIndividuals / companies, unchanged80% / 85%

Presenting the budget, the City said 2026 is expected to close with a positive total result. The 2027 budget does not yet include the measures meant to offset, from 2028, the effects of the 2025 cantonal votes.

Budget 2026 and financial plan 2026–2033

A small operating deficit and a large investment year

Operating resultBudget 2025: −24.0M−4.2M
Net investmentMainly Arena Sportiva and Palazzetto dello Sport263.5M
Self-financingCovers 8% of net investment21.6M
Borrowing need (risultato globale)New debt needed in 2026−240.8M
Planned asset sales and revaluationsAcross the whole plan, 2026–2033306.1M
Municipal tax multiplierIndividuals / companies, up 3 points each from 77% / 82%80% / 85%

The 2027 budget message restates 2026 net investment as 262.4M; the figure above is from the 2026 release. From 2028 the results of the cantonal votes of 28 September 2025 reduce city revenue by about 22.9M a year. The City intends to make this up with measures over 2028–2030.

Notes and sources

How to read these numbers

Three different debt measures

  • Gross financial debt (City of Lugano): bonds and loans owed, 1’049.9M at end of 2025. Used in the debt path and key figures.
  • Net public debt I (Canton of Ticino): debt minus financial assets, 655.5M in 2024, or CHF 10’302 per resident. Used in the indicator table.
  • Net direct and indirect debt / operating revenue (Moody's): expected at 234% for 2025, 224% for 2026 and 216% for 2027, as quoted by Corriere del Ticino from Moody's April 2026 review.

These measure different things and should not be compared with one another.

Estimates on this page

  • The 2026 estimate of 1’290.7M adds the budget's 240.8M borrowing need to end-2025 debt, before any asset sales. The City does not publish this figure.
  • Three bonds not listed on SIX are treated as private placements. The City's public-bond total of CHF 1.0bn after September 2025 only adds up without them.
  • Debt not in bonds is described as likely bank and short-term borrowing.
  • One matured private placement (CH0536893263) has no published size and is left out of the 2024 bond share.

Sources

  1. City of Lugano, financial documents: final accounts 2024 and 2025, budget 2026, financial plan 2026–2033, budget 2027 (release, press presentation and municipal message, 15 October 2026).
  2. Canton of Ticino, Sezione degli enti locali: municipal financial statistics 2023 and 2024.
  3. City of Lugano, Moody's rating announcement, 27 October 2025.
  4. Corriere del Ticino, "Moody's promuove governance e risparmi", 22 April 2026, for Moody's debt ratios.
  5. RSI, "Finanze pubbliche, la corsa ai bond", July 2025, for the public-bond total.
  6. Bond terms from City press releases and public listings (SIX, finanzen.net, cbonds). Listing dates from SIX.

Figures were extracted from the published documents by software and checked by hand against the original PDFs. The 2024 figures match the canton's statistics exactly.