News
Sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) continue to gain traction in Australia. Wesfarmers is the latest borrower to establish a facility linked to environmental and social goals, which it says are ambitious and will improve its overall credit profile.
The disruption the accelerating COVID-19 crisis has sparked will test the resilience of the Australian securitisation market, even though risks to credit quality may be limited. Issuers may have to increase their usage of alternative funding options should the public market remain inaccessible for an extended period.
The New Zealand dollar corporate market appears to have battened down the hatches as COVID-19 has impinged on global markets. The specifics of local demand have shielded New Zealand from global volatility on occasion but market participants say the low-rate environment now leaves it more vulnerable to global moves.
As high-grade bonds have rallied globally in response to the COVID-19 crisis, opportunities have emerged in the short end of the Australian dollar basis swap curve.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has released a paper on the principles that would guide its potential use of unconventional monetary policy tools. There is no specific guidance on how the central bank might combat fallout from COVID-19.
B Corp certification assesses the overall positive impact of a company. Liberty Financial (Liberty) attained the accreditation on 3 March. James Boyle, the company’s Melbourne-based chief executive, talks to KangaNews about how it fits into corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.
Investa Property Group’s green-debt strategy has matured, bringing realised cost benefits, the A$500 million (US$330 million) milestone in green loans and the prospect of all future bank-debt refinancing coming in green format. The company’s Sydney-based general manager, corporate sustainability, Nina James, and head of corporate planning and treasury, Lisa Story, discuss the merits of the strategy and its execution.
The South Australian Government Financing Authority (SAFA) is responding to increased volatility by taking a nimbler approach to its funding task. Being open to opportunities is prudent in the current environment, the issuer states.
The Australian market, along with the rest of the world, has paused to take stock of the escalating COVID-19 outbreak. As of 3 March – and in the wake of a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate cut – credit market participants say it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the long-term effect but they have a degree of confidence that the Australian dollar market can stabilise.
Columbus Capital proceeded with the pricing of its latest residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deal on 28 February, just as the COVID-19 outbreak worsened. Deal sources say the timing was actually fortuitous for the issuer.
Demand for syndicated primary issuance of semi-government paper continued through at least the last week of February, driven by relative value in the sector, a lack of other high-grade supply and, most recently, investor flight to quality.
Emirates NBD Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) returned to Australian dollar issuance in February after long absences. Deal sources say market conditions were conducive despite basis-swap headwinds earlier in the year.