News
On November 23 Suncorp Metway (Suncorp) (A+/A1/A+) priced a A$900 million (US$886.9 million) two-tranche June 2013 transaction via Deutsche Bank and UBS Investment Bank. The A$300 million fixed rate notes and A$600 million floating rate notes priced at 110 basis points over swap and the three-month bank bill swap rate, respectively.
On Tuesday November 23 the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) priced its inaugural Kangaroo bond via Commonwealth Bank of Australia and RBC Capital Markets. The A$400 million (US$394 million) five-year bond offers a 5.57 per cent coupon and priced at 76 basis points over the April 2015 Australian Commonwealth government bond.
The Australian securitisation market is approaching year end in much the same way it did 12 months ago, with a clutch of deals coming to market in the final weeks including a smattering of activity without the support of the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM). Market participants say there are a number of key issues still to be worked out but also believe there are reasons to be hopeful about 2011's prospects.
Stockland (A-) has completed a new A$160 million (US$158.4 million) 10-year domestic line, which was upsized from a launch volume of A$100 million. As part of the exchange offer, the issuer also conducted a partial buyback of its outstanding June 2011 and May 2013 maturities, accounting for a total of A$70 million of paper across the two lines.
Following a notice issued to bondholders (via their nominees) on October 8 2010, Sydney Airport Corporation (Sydney Airport) (BBB/Baa2/BBB) will redeem all outstanding November 2011 bonds totalling A$282.2 million, on November 22. These are the bonds that were partially exchanged and extended in June 2010, in conjunction with Sydney Airport's new A$175 million July 2015 bond issue.
On November 18 Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) (AA/Aa2) priced its first euro-denominated covered bond, issued off the bank's NZ$3 billion (US$2.3 billion) covered bond programme. The EUR1 billion (US$1.35 billion) seven-year deal priced at euro mid-swaps plus 62 basis points, which equates to 90 basis points over dollar-Libor. With an order book of EUR1.35 billion and 60 accounts participating, the issuer says there was strong demand for this debut.
Police and Nurses Credit Society (PNCS) and Resimac have both announced forthcoming residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deals, taking the total number of asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions emerging in the past week to five. PNCS's inaugural RMBS has an indicative volume of A$250 million (US$243.95 million), while Resimac's has an expected A$400 million size.
Lloyds TSB Bank Australia Branch (Lloyds TSB) (A+/Aa3) launched its inaugural domestic deal on November 16. The benchmark three-year issue is expected to price on November 17, according to lead managers J.P. Morgan, Macquarie Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland Australia and UBS Investment Bank.
APN Media NZ (APN) (NR) has set a margin of 310 basis points over swap on its forthcoming retail deal. The NZ$150 million (US$116.25 million) March 2016 issue has a minimum interest rate of 7.8 per cent and will be offered to retail investors in New Zealand and Australia.