News

Expected ratings were assigned by two agencies to ME Bank's second residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction of 2012 on September 10. The forthcoming issue, SMHL Securitisation Fund 2012-2, comprises five rated tranches by Standard and Poor's Rating Services (S&P), and three rated and two unrated tranches by Fitch Ratings (Fitch), all denominated in Australian dollars, with aggregate volume of A$500 million (US$518.6 million).

The first week of September was somewhat subdued with only one domestic corporate deal priced. Commonwealth Bank of Australia also launched its Perls VI tier one hybrid which will be priced next week. ANZ Banking Group went to the US market, raising US$3 billion through a dual-tranche US$2.25 billion 3-year covered bonds issue and another US$750 million 5-year senior tranche.

On September 5, ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) (AA-/Aa2/AA-) successfully raised US$3 billion through a three-tranche deal – featuring senior unsecured and covered bonds – supported by an oversubscribed total order book of US$4.5 billion. The issuer says the size of the transaction allows the bank to meet part of its 2013 funding requirements before the end of the current financial year.

In an environment of limited domestic corporate supply, Transpower New Zealand (Transpower) (AA-/A1) upsized its senior notes issue, in two tranches, to NZ$300 million (US$240.3 million) from NZ$200 million at launch. The company also priced both tranches at the tight end of indicative margins on September 3, on the back of what the leads describe as strong institutional demand.

DEXUS Finance (DEXUS) (BBB+/Baa1) has priced a new A$100 million (US$102.7 million), six-year fixed rate transaction at a margin of 245 basis points area over swap. The deal, joint led by ANZ, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac Institutional Bank, priced on the same day as the launch – September 3.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) has announced the final margin for its tier one hybrid, Perls VI, at 380 basis points over bank bill swap rate. The offer was upsized to A$1.5 billion (US$1.57 billion) from its original projection of A$750 million. CommBank is the last of the big four banks to offer a retail deal under its own name in 2012, and lodged a prospectus for Perls IV on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on September 3.

ANZ National Bank (ANZ National) (AA-/Aa3/AA-) launched a new five-year transaction in the domestic retail market on September 3, announcing its plans to place at least NZ$200 million (US$160.1 million) via the fixed-rate, self-led deal. The bank's previous public domestic deal came in March this year, when it sold NZ$250 million of seven-year notes.

On August 31, Silver Chef (NR) priced a six-year senior unsecured fixed rate notes issue for total volume of A$30 million (US$30.9 million). FIIG Securities arranged the deal, which according to KangaNews data makes it the first public, senior unsecured bond bookbuild to be conducted in the Australian domestic market without a bank lead manager.

Suncorp Bank (Suncorp) upsized its Apollo Series 2012-1 residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issue to A$1 billion (US$1.03 billion) from A$750 million based on an oversubscribed order book following launch on August 27. The deal's arranger says it attracted significant support from fund managers, while a bid from the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) was scaled out almost completely.

The last week of August rounded out a busy month for asset-backed securities issuance as a seventh residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) priced. Sentiment was buoyed around the first non-financial true corporate Kangaroo in six years, though the markets were otherwise quiet.

The focus of BP Capital Markets (BP) (A/A2/A), in its debut Kangaroo transaction, of achieving a margin in line with what it can obtain in alternative global markets limited some Australian fund managers' involvement in the transaction. But participants across the market hail the borrower's ability to issue A$500 million (US$518.9 million) at a global benchmark price as a significant positive for future corporate Kangaroo issuance.

BP Capital Markets (BP) (A/A2/A) priced the first transaction from a non-financial corporate borrower in the Kangaroo market for over six years on August 29, closing a new five-year issue at a margin of 115 basis points over swap. The borrower has said it hopes to be a regular Kangaroo borrower and has a long-term target of issuing around A$1 billion (US$1.04 billion) a year.