News
Asian Development Bank’s second Kauri gender bond brought supranational, sovereign and agency supply in New Zealand to nearly NZ$2 billion (US$1.4 billion) for July and within striking distance of an annual record. The issuer says thematic bonds are giving it greater traction with investors.
DWPF Finance returned to the Australian dollar market for its first new deal in six years on 27 July. Deal sources say the issuer was keen to hit the deepest pocket of Australian dollar demand and to establish a longer point on its curve, eventually receiving good support for both the seven- and 11-year tranches it offered.
Bluestone Group printed its debut prime residential mortgage-backed securities deal on 21 July in a deal supported by the lender’s recent partnership with Athena. Having built market presence with its nonconforming product, Bluestone now expects the majority of its issuance to be in the prime category, while it is also teasing an imminent New Zealand dollar debut.
Australia’s buy-now, pay-later securitisation sector received a significant stamp of approval in July as Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the top tranches of all three of Zip Co’s outstanding transactions to Aaa. The rating agency had previously withheld the top mark based on the relative infancy of Zip and the BNPL asset class, and the issuer now says it hopes to see a cost-of-funds benefit from the development.