News

Bank of New Zealand chose two-year tenor for its first domestic benchmark deal of the year to meet institutional investor preference in a turbulent market and to fulfil a specific balance-sheet management goal of its own. While bank supply may continue to be limited in New Zealand, there is a degree of optimism that volatility should not block the corporate issuance pipeline.

Rising geopolitical and inflation risks created turbulent market conditions in March, leading Australia’s big-four banks to push on with their funding tasks via covered-bond issuance. Three of the majors and one of their New Zealand subsidiaries issued covered bonds in recent weeks, targeting euro or sterling.