News

BNP Paribas Australian Branch (BNP Paribas Australia) (A+/A2/A+) priced a new five-year Australian dollar transaction on January 17, in the bank's first Australian domestic bond issue since May 2011 according to KangaNews data. BNP Paribas Australia was an active local borrower between mid-2009 and mid-2011, issuing a total of A$5.25 billion (US$5.54 billion) in eight deals, but has not returned to the market since.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) (AA-/Aa2/AA-) opened the Australian domestic market in 2013 with a new offering of five-year fixed and floating rate notes, in a self-led deal totalling A$2.5 billion (US$2.64 billion).

World Bank has priced its first Kangaroo deal of 2013 – a A$700 million (US$738 million) new five-year line led by ANZ, Deutsche Bank and TD Securities.

Provisional ratings have been assigned to a new US dollar asset-backed securities (ABS) issue from Macquarie Leasing, comprising an indicative US$500 million of top-rated auto lease-backed securities supported by A$59.4 million (US$62.7 million) of subordinated notes. Macquarie Leasing is an active issuer of US dollar securitisations: it has placed five such deals since early 2011.

Positive sentiment in global markets enabled an early-year flurry of Kangaroo issuance, which saw A$2.225 billion (US$2.35 billion) price in six deals in the first full week of the year. Diverse demand pools are likely to facilitate issuance of both mid- and long-tenor deals, from a greater range of issuers. However, with rare exceptions Australian investors continue to play no more than a complementary role in supranational, sovereign and agency (SSA) Kangaroos.

Following a week in which A$2.225 billion (US$2.34 billion) of Kangaroo paper came to market in six transactions, World Bank (AAA/Aaa) mandated its own return to Australian dollar issuance on January 14. The supranational plans to place a new five-year Kangaroo in what will be its first Australian transaction since March 2012.

Australia's first domestic bond transaction of 2013 was mandated on January 14 as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) (AA-/Aa2/AA-) announced plans to price a new five-year, senior unsecured deal. The self-led transaction will be CommBank's first domestic benchmark issue since June last year and the first from a big four Australian bank since December.

Kangaroo deal flow dominated the Australian market in the first active week of 2013 as six deals launched and priced for combined volume of A$2.225 billion (US$2.35 billion) by the close on January 11. Domestic markets in Australia and New Zealand remained quiet with no transactions from local borrowers officially launched by the end of the week.

Kommunalbanken Norway (KBN) (AAA/Aaa) priced its first Kangaroo deal of the year on January 11, with the agency adding A$150 million (US$158.7 million) to the A$300 million previously on issue in its July 2022 bond. KBN was the sixth borrower to price a Kangaroo deal in the new year and the fourth to offer 2022 bonds in its return to the Australian dollar market.

European Investment Bank (EIB) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) increased its August 2022 bond by A$400 million (US$423.4 million) on January 11. In the past EIB has often been an early mover in the Kangaroo market, but in 2012 it did not price a Kangaroo deal until February before issuing just A$1.5 billion in three trades for the whole year.

A mini Kangaroo boom at the start of 2013 continued on January 11 as Rentenbank (AAA/Aaa/AAA) launched and priced an increase to its March 2020 bond. The tap had indicative volume of A$400 million (US$423.4 million), taking the outstanding size of the line to A$1.05 billion.

The Australian Commonwealth government released an exposure draft of amendments to the Corporations Act on January 11, designed to streamline the offering process for "simple" corporate bonds. As expected the draft proposes a two-part prospectus regime and changes to personal liability rules for company directors, while leaving much of the detail of the prospectus setup to regulators.