News
On 12 March, Heritage Bank (Baa1/BBB+) revealed plans to meet with investors in Sydney and Melbourne, on 16 and 19 March respectively, regarding a possible Australian dollar denominated transaction. ANZ and National Australia Bank will arrange the meetings.
Late in the Sydney day on 9 March, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) completed the bookbuild on its PERLS X tier-one hybrid capital notes with A$1.25 million (US$980 million) allocated under the offer. The final margin has been set at 340 basis points over three-month bank bills, the tight end of 340-360 basis points over swap range. The offer will open on 15 March and is expected to close on 29 March.
The New Zealand Debt Management Office (NZDMO) (AA+/Aaa/AA+) launched its April 2029 nominal bond on 12 March. The transaction is for NZ$1.5-2 billion (US$1.1-1.5 million) with indicative price guidance of 16-19 basis points over the April 2027 New Zealand government bond. The deal is being led by ANZ, BNZ, Deutsche Bank and UBS and is expected to price on the day after launch.
Investore Property (Investore) (NR) disclosed on 12 March an indicative margin of 150-170 basis points over swap for its debut bond transaction – a six-year, fixed-rate deal seeking NZ$75 million (US$54.7 million) with the capacity to upsize by up to NZ$25 million. ANZ, Deutsche Craigs, Forsyth Barr and Westpac New Zealand are leading the deal, which has bookbuild and rate set scheduled on 20 March.
During the first full week of March, National Australia Bank priced a triple-tranche A$1.5 billion (US$1.2 billion) domestic covered bond and International Finance Corporation printed the market's first ever Kangaroo social bond, with a A$300 million transaction. In securitisation, Firstmac printed a $600 million dollar deal, which included a US dollar denominated tranche.
Domestic covered-bond issuance from Australia’s major banks has been scarce since 2012, with just one deal in each of the last three years. With global market conditions expected to be less benign in the immediate future, National Australia Bank (NAB) says its recent covered bond transaction was the right move.
The Australian responsible-investment market has taken another evolutionary step with the pricing of the inaugural Kangaroo social bond by International Finance Corporation (IFC). The issuer says the deal presented challenges, but IFC is confident the product will grow. Meanwhile, intermediaries say the transaction displays strong Australian investor appetite for the product.
Pioneer Credit launched an indicative A$25 million (US$19.6 million) four-year subordinated floating-rate note (FRN) on 8 March. The forthcoming deal is being marketed at 525 basis points area over three-month bank bills. Pricing is expected on or before March 16, according to lead managers Acacia Partners and Westpac Institutional Bank.
On 8 March, Mercedes-Benz Australia (Mercedes-Benz) (A/A2/A-) mandated a three-year Australian dollar denominated EMTN transaction, via TD Securities and Westpac Institutional Bank. The forthcoming deal is being marketed at 58 basis points area over swap benchmarks.
On 8 March, People’s Choice Credit Union (People’s Choice) revealed plans for a potential Australian dollar denominated residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction from its Light Trust programme. ANZ, National Australia Bank and Westpac Institutional Bank have been mandated to engage with investors regarding the possible capital relief transaction.