News
Qtectic became the second public-private partnership (PPP) to take advantage of Australia’s burgeoning green-loan opportunities in mid-May. The consortium owns and operates Queensland’s new-generation trains and was able to secure certification under the Climate Bonds Initiative’s low-carbon transport criteria. Deal sources say many PPPs are ripe for labelled finance.
ANZ Banking Group’s recent issuance of tier-two securities in the sterling market is the first UK transaction in this format from an Australian bank since prudential reforms announced in 2019. The issuer says diversification and attractive pricing drove the move as the bank continues to position itself for the 2024 deadline for new capital rules.
The New Zealand securitisation market is showing positive signs after a stop-start few years, with issuer and lead managers on the year’s first new public transaction suggesting momentum is building to the extent that 2021 could become a record issuance year.
MyState Bank made its senior-unsecured funding debut on 8 June. The issuer says the deal is in support of its plans to accelerate balance sheet growth as the Australian economy strengthens in the wake of COVID-19.
African Development Bank (AfDB) added to a burgeoning list of Kangaroo social-bond issuers when it returned to the market on 8 June. The social label has of late come to rival green as the dominant format of green, social and sustainability (GSS) bond issuance among supranational, sovereign and agency (SSA) Kangaroo borrowers.
KangaNews is pleased to reveal the results of its 11th annual Fixed-Income Research Poll, a survey that asks institutional investors in the Australian fixed-income market to rank the research they receive across a range of sectors.
Worley printed a euro sustainability-linked bond (SLB) on 1 June, its inaugural public capital markets deal and also the first public SLB from an Australian issuer. The borrower opted for a single, highly ambitious target which aligns with its corporate sustainability strategy, and spurned the need for borrower upside in the funding mechanism.
National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) evolved its labelled-bond issuance to include sustainability format in its recent deal. The transaction covers a social and affordable housing project in Melbourne which adds environmental outcomes to the social benefit derived from social housing. Further funding evolution is on the immediate horizon for the issuer.
Kathmandu Holdings’ well-defined sustainability strategy enabled it to easily align its financial arrangements with the metrics of a sustainability-linked loan. The issuer says addressing the apparel sector’s industry-wide problems in the metrics was key to getting the loan over the line.
Westpac Banking Corporation visited the US dollar market on 25 May to print the first major-bank senior-unsecured term benchmark deal since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. The issuer says market conditions and a desire to extend its maturity profile were key reasons for the transaction, adding that a return to something close to pre-crisis senior funding frequency is now coming into view.
Australian Unity Bank says the debut internal securitisation it recently completed adds another funding tool to support growth. The bank tells KangaNews this is one of many avenues it is currently pursuing in an increasingly challenging environment for the mutual-bank sector as a whole.
Wisr’s debut unsecured personal loan-backed securitisation transaction attained a triple-A rating for the structure’s senior notes – a rare feat given the sponsor’s relatively short origination track record. Deal sources say investor interest was robust with accounts willing to engage with the asset class’s risk profile.