News
New Zealand intermediaries are optimistic on market momentum but say it may still be some time before the market truly returns to normality. The tone is emerging in the wake of unprecedented volume of supply from 7-17 April as local government-sector borrowers re-entered the syndicated market.
An extended issuance hiatus could slow progress, but Australian corporate borrowers continue to show willingness to engage with new sustainability-linked products. Sydney Airport and Wesfarmers have completed new sustainability-linked funding – the former as the first such issuer in any global bond market.
The following interview is with an Australian-based funding executive at a nonbank financial institution. It was conducted on 8 April 2020.
Going into the COVID-19 crisis, the Australian mutual and customer-owned banking sector already faced problems it had been grappling with for years, especially lower-for-longer rates. The industry gathered to discuss funding and capital challenges at a KangaNews event in late February.
The following interview is with a New Zealand debt market banker. It was conducted on 19 April 2020.
The second annual KangaNews Mutual Sector Wholesale Funding Seminar took place in Sydney on 25 February. Discussions covered the sector’s performance and competitive position, access to wholesale funding markets, the potential for additional-capital issuance and how mutuals can incorporate technology to add efficiency in the treasury function.
The following interview is with an Australian-based bank treasury executive. It was conducted on 9 April 2020.
Two more blue-chip Australian corporate borrowers have successfully printed deals in the euro market, despite not being eligible for the EU corporate-sector purchase programme (CSPP). Deal sources say euro investors are demonstrating ongoing appetite for high-quality corporate names.
The following interview is with an Australia-based debt capital markets originator. It was conducted on 8 April 2020