News
The 2013 domestic transaction which Westpac New Zealand (AA/Aa2) (Westpac) postponed in mid-September reopened on November 12, although a retail brokerage premium added to the latest incarnation of the deal means the issuer will pay a higher price for its debt.
New South Wales Treasury Corporation (TCorp) says its funding requirement for the 2008/9 financial year will increase to A$5.3 billion (US$3.56 billion), from the previous expected level of A$4.9 billion , following the November 11 mini budget proposed by the state of New South Wales (NSW).
Transpower Finance (AA-/Aa2) will issue its NZ$50 million (US$29.14 million) 2019 bond on November 12 – the first time the New Zealand electricity transmission grid owner has issued in its home market since May 2005. The new deal priced at a tight 75 basis points over swap as it was initially sold as a six-month forward start issue in May.
Tauranga City Council (A) (TCC) closed its 2013 domestic offering – the first transaction from a New Zealand local council to be marketed to retail investors since these issuers were exempted from filing a full prospectus earlier this year – on November 14 having reached full subscription of the deal’s maximum size of NZ$50 million (US$28.25 million).
Kangaroo issuers included in Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s latest repo-eligibility criteria are unlikely to derive enormous benefits from the move as a result of minimal short-term demand for Kangaroo paper and serious questions over whether RBA will extend those issuers’ eligibility beyond the initial duration of the revision.
ANZ National Bank (AA/Aa2/AA-) returned to its domestic market on November 5, pricing a combined NZ$135 million (US$81.36 million) of increases to its June 2010 and 2014 lines in a transaction led by its subsidiary ANZ.
Banco Santander (AA/Aa1/AA) has confirmed it is visiting Australia in the week beginning November 10 in a roadshow arranged by J.P. Morgan and Westpac Institutional Bank, although sources connected to the roadshow are stressing no deal should be expected in its wake.
On October 29 the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) announced it has awarded the first two mandates to arrange the issue of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) under the Australian Treasury’s A$8 billion (US$5.13 billion) package to stimulate activity in this sector.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BBB+/A2) (BEN) lodged a prospectus for a new convertible preference share (CPS) offer on October 29, with the deal's managers confident that its headline yield will attract retail investors despite the ongoing vogue for government-guaranteed bank deposits.
Bank of New Zealand (AA/Aa2) (BNZ) increased its May 2015 line by NZ$135 million (US$77 million) on October 29 in the first domestic transaction by a New Zealand bank since early September.
The Senate committee examining the bill proposing exemption from interest withholding tax (IWT) for offshore buyers of Australian state and territory debt has asked for more time to reach its conclusions, but state treasury representatives remain hopeful of an unproblematic resolution.
The Australian Treasury has answered one of the biggest questions surrounding its proposed guarantee on bank term funding – the fee that will be levied for the guarantee to be applied to bond issues – but bank funding officials believe there are still too many unanswered questions to predict whether they will use the scheme.