News
Investec Bank (Australia) has launched its first Australian asset-backed securities (ABS) deal, at a size of A$240.7 million (US$211.1 million). The motor vehicle and equipment receivables transaction, Impala Trust Series 2010-1, will offer class A and class B notes to the market with the remaining four tranches of notes being held by the issuer.
Bullish economic projections released by the Australian government at the same time as the federal budget for 2010/11 have not yet been enough to spur a return to local primary market issuance. And while some market sources say new deals may be forthcoming in the near future as short-term volatility settles down, most also believe that risk appetite has been set back several steps by sovereign concerns.
Global demand for Australian Commonwealth government securities (CGS) has not been weakened by the developed market sovereign debt malaise according to the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM). With the domestic economy continuing to outperform, the debt management agency says it is confident it can complete its stable funding task for the 2010/11 financial year.
May 11 was a significant day for the development of retail corporate bonds in Australia, with the federal budget once again expressing government support for the market and adding a small tax incentive for investments. On the same day, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published the results of its retail bond consultation and the updated version of its simplified prospectus regime for issuers.
For the third consecutive week, issuance markets in Australia and New Zealand were quiet as European sovereign debt concerns intensified and risk aversion took hold among global investors. However, there continue to be signs that – notwithstanding the explosive international volatility – confidence in domestic assets remains reasonably robust.
A low-doc predominant residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deal was launched by Resimac on May 5, with the issuer saying it has been exploring a trade for the past year. Premier Series 2010-1 Triomphe Trust (Premier 2010-1) is the first new mainly low-doc offering in almost two years, with 69.9 per cent of the loans in the pool being low-doc and the balance full documentation.
Having updated investors in New Zealand and offshore on April 30, Telstra (A/A2/A) launched a Kauri deal on May 3 with the material details of the transaction in line with expectations. The issuer is seeking a minimum of NZ$100 million (US$72.8 million) with room to upsize to a maximum volume of NZ$250 million in a deal which is expected to price on May 6.