News

Rabobank Nederland Australia Branch (Rabobank Australia) (AAA/Aaa) issued a new A$600 million (US$626.9 million) April 2018 domestic transaction on April 13 The fixed rate deal is the borrower's second issue of 2011, having reopened the domestic market for the year on January 12 with a dual-tranche A$900 million 2015 transaction.

The first Australian commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) issue of the year has been completed, with the issue of a A$160 million (US$173.2 million) increase to a deal introduced by ALE Finance Company in May 2006. The new notes are subordinate to the existing A$130 million of the issuer's Series 1 CMBS paper.

Macquarie Securitisation completed a new A$750 million (US$789 million) residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deal on April 15. The deal, which was upsized from a launch volume of A$500 million, is Macquarie Securitisation's second public RMBS transaction since the Macquarie Bank subsidiary recommenced mortgage origination in October 2009: it returned to the domestic market in September 2010 with a A$750 million issue.

On April 11, HSBC Bank Australia (HSBC Australia) (AA/Aa3) launched and priced a new three-year domestic deal with volume capped at its launch size of A$500 million (US$528.2 million). The floating rate notes transaction tightened its margin by a single basis point between launch and pricing, closing at 84 basis points over bank bill swap rate.

Westfield Retail Trust (WRT) (A+), the recently-founded entity which has taken ownership of the lion's share of Westfield Group (Westfield)'s Australasian assets, issued its debut bond transaction into the Australian market on April 12 one day after launch. The A$900 million (US$938 million) five-year deal was upsized from a launch volume of A$500 million and achieved indicative pricing of 120 basis points over swap.

Although the year started off with subdued activity in the Australian securitisation market – with just three asset-backed transactions being completed by the end of March – a number of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deals have been launched since the start of the second quarter. Intermediaries agree that demand from real money and balance sheets is abundant, but such appetite has remained unfulfilled as supply has been constrained.

Citigroup completed its first Australian residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issue since 2008 on April 19. The deal achieved its target volume of A$760 million (US$797.8 million), with leads revealing that the book was oversubscribed - predominantly by domestic asset managers. The deal, Secured Australian Mortgage Trust 2011-1, is the fifth domestic RMBS to price in April following just three transactions in the first quarter.

On April 7, KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) increased its February 2018 Kangaroo by A$300 million (US$316.7 million). The tap – which is KfW's seventh Kangaroo transaction this year – adds to a line which was inaugurated on February 16 at a size of A$500 million.

The amalgamated Auckland Council (AA) made its medium-term note (MTN) debut on April 1, pricing NZ$200 million (NZ$153.7 million) equally split between an October 2013 and an April 2017 tranche. However, while the issuer is currently restricted from funding in both the offshore and domestic retail markets it does not plan to place another institutional transaction for at least three months.

Kommunalbanken Norway (KBN) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) launched and priced a new A$250 million (US$258.2 million) 10-year Kangaroo line on April 5, in what was the borrower's third Kangaroo issue of the year and its first for more than two months. The transaction significantly extends KBN's Kangaroo curve - prior to the completion of the new transaction its furthest point sat at January 2015.

Liberty Financial priced its first residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction of the year on April 8, with the Liberty Prime Series 2011-1 achieving total volume of A$250 million (US$262.1 million). The transaction, which is also the first non-bank RMBS transaction in Australia this year, contains six tranches with the A$50.75 million A2 notes sold to the Australian Office of Financial Management.

Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) (AA+/Aa1) has extended the duration of its benchmark bond curve with the placement via bookbuild of a new July 2022 line. The treasury corporation's longest-dated benchmark bond before the new line's pricing was the Commonwealth-guaranteed June 2021, while its longest-dated state-guaranteed line was the February 2020.