Finland’s Municipality Finance (MuniFin) (AAA/Aaa) priced its first Kangaroo issue on April 11 with a A$200 million (US$166 million), four-year note, co-led by Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) and Nomura.
As Swiss Re launches a roadshow for its first T1 hybrid Kangaroo issue, a perpetual non-call 10 note, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) is confident that the hybrid Kangaroo market is set for growth.
The proposed acquisition of US agency SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae) (A/A2/A+) by a private equity consortium has resulted in the issuer being placed on credit watch by all three ratings agencies.
Issuers, intermediaries and investors speaking at the recent KangaNews/Westpac speed-meeting summit agree that while the Kangaroo market should continue to experience impressive growth, there is still room for development in terms of product range, transparency and market depth.
Kommunalbanken Norway (KBN) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) made its first foray into the Kangaroo market for over a year with the issue of a A$200 million (US$163 million), triple-A rated note priced on March 21.
On March 14 KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) priced A$300 million of March 2017 bonds via ANZ Investment Bank and TD Securities. This is KfW’s second new point on the curve so far this year and it now has one of the deepest curves in the Kangaroo market.
The issuing and paying agency market is expecting new entrants following Austraclear’s decision not to accept any new business in the area while it conducts a wide-scale internal review.
The German agency has so far opened one new line and increased two transactions in 2007. With limited liquidity it can be tricky to get the balance right between reopenings and new issues.
A total of A$5.1 billion was issued by four US-based financial institutions in the first two weeks of February. This comprises 68.5 per cent of the total volume of A$7.45 billion issued in the year to February 16.
On November 15 2006 Dutch agency Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) had A$500 million of Kangaroo bonds maturing. Via a hitch in the settlement process, bond investors were paid their final coupon and the principal a day late.
On January 10 Rentenbank - which has the biggest outstanding Kangaroo volume of A$5.65 billion - brought a A$300 million 6.25 per cent July 2010 deal led by ANZ Investment Bank (ANZIB) and RBC Capital Markets (RBCCM).
The Kangaroo market experienced another record year in 2006, with a total of A$32.081 billion issued in 92 deals by a diverse range of issuers. This is a 28 per cent increase on the A$25.16 billion issued in 2005.