News

Social distancing has been a key part of the global response to COVID-19 everywhere but debt capital markets, where social funding outcomes have come to the fore. As with most green, social and sustainability (GSS) bond developments, supranational, sovereign and agency (SSA) borrowers are leading the evolution of social issuance.

Debates around price, impact and social benefit in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing have been quickly developing in recent years, and been further energised by the COVID-19 crisis. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) facilitated a discussion to get the latest views from issuers and investors.

AusNet Services Holdings pushed ahead with a hybrid-capital deal despite global market volatility rearing in the days preceding launch. Issuer and leads say support was secured from key accounts in advance but the deal also attracted plenty of bids from yield-hungry investors despite the challenging environment.

Shinhan Bank’s Kangaroo COVID-19-alleviation social bond demonstrates the possibilities for issuers outside the government sector to issue in the format in Australian dollars, issuer and leads say. Deal sources add their view that demand was bolstered by the social overlay.

A rate call change that caused yields to plummet was not enough to stop Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) breaking its own record for Australian dollar transaction volume, for the fourth time this year. The issuer tells KangaNews orderbook composition illustrates market depth.

Scentre Group says its blockbuster subordinated-debt deal in the US dollar 144A market is part of an ongoing capital-management programme in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, supporting its long-term credit rating and providing significant financial flexibility. The transaction was met by substantial international demand, deal sources add.

The KangaNews Women in Capital Markets Survey (WICM Survey) is a centrepiece of the WICM Yearbook. Conducted in August, more than 150 women from across the Australian capital-markets landscape shared their views in response to a range of questions that highlight workplace gender diversity and the steps the industry can take to improve further.

An expanded pool of eligible green-bond projects, including many long-dated assets, and New Zealand’s interest-rate environment provided the catalyst for Auckland Council to print a 30-year green-bond deal. The issuer says the tenor is an important development and the success of its transaction should encourage others to test the water at extended duration.

Kiwibank says its credit growth is outstripping the incremental funding provided by central-bank facilities and deposit inflows, leading the borrower printing its inaugural Kangaroo covered bond on 16 September. Tim Main, Kiwibank’s Auckland-based treasurer, spoke to KangaNews about the deal.

World Bank’s latest New Zealand dollar transaction is the largest-ever Kauri deal with tenor longer than five years. With rates continuing to head lower in New Zealand, investor appetite for longer-tenor deals is apparent and matched World Bank’s desire to fund further out on the curve.

TransGrid printed its debut Australian dollar deal on 15 September and in the process continued a run of strong market outcomes for defensive local credits. The issuer was keen to establish a beachhead in its domestic market as it eyes a greater capex-related funding requirement in the coming years.

Resimac reopened the New Zealand residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market with a transaction that had been pencilled in to its execution window even prior to COVID-19. Deal sources say surprisingly positive housing data and a new rates environment supported execution.