News
On July 14, Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) (AA-/Aa2) launched a A$50 million (US$38 million) increase to its June 2026 line. According to KangaNews data, the line was introduced in December last year for volume of A$150 million and pricing of 120 basis points over semi-quarterly swap.
Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) (AA-/Aa2/AA-) priced its inaugural Kauri bond transaction on July 14. According to KangaNews data, the NZ$350 million (US$253 million) five-year bond is the second Kauri issued without a triple-A rating – including Australian bank covered bonds – since May 2010, after Korea Development Bank (KDB) priced its debut Kauri transaction in April this year. This NZ$200 million transaction priced at 105 basis points over bank bill reference rate.
On July 13, Société Générale's (A/A2/A) Australian dollar tier-two subordinated transaction progressed launched and priced. Indicative volume on the 12-year non-call-seven maturity structure deal was A$200 million (US$151.9 million) with price guidance in the area of 320 basis points over semi-quarterly swap. The bonds will be issued off Société Générale's EMTN programme and are expected to be rated BBB/Baa3/A-.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) revealed the results of a review of its high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) criteria on July 14. The regulator is making no changes to its definition of HQLAs and adds just one issuer to the list of qualifying names: Australia's Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (Efic).
In the wake of its debut domestic transaction, WSO Finance (A3/A-), the financing entity of the Westlink Motorway Group (Westlink) and a 50 per cent owned subsidiary of Transurban, says Brexit didn't derail the deal's execution schedule or negatively affect its ultimate outcome. Issuer flexibility around deal format enabled a rare 10-year floating-rate tranche to be added to the planned seven-year fixed-rate bond.
Motor Trade Finance New Zealand (MTF) has mandated a series of asset-backed securities (ABS) investor meetings to take place in New Zealand at the beginning of August, a July 12 announcement reveals. Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Institutional Bank are arranging the meetings.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Sydney Branch (SMBC Sydney) (A/A1/A) launched a new Australian dollar, three-year senior-unsecured benchmark transaction on July 12. Initial price guidance is in the area of 120 basis points over three-month bank bill swap rate (BBSW) or semi-quarterly swap rate.
On July 11, ME (BBB+/A3) priced a new senior-unsecured transaction. Initial price guidance on the three-year floating-rate notes was revealed to be in the area of 145 basis points over three-month bank bill swap rate (BBSW) in a launch announcement the same day. According to KangaNews data, ME was most recently in the domestic senior-unsecured market in November 2014, when it printed A$200 million (US$151.1 million) of three-year notes at 100 basis points over BBSW.
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) (BBB+/A3) priced a six-year Australian dollar transaction on July 11. The deal is issued off the issuer's EMTN programme and will be listed in Singapore.