News
ASB Bank (ASB) (AA-/Aa3/AA-) priced a new, May 2021 maturity, transaction on November 20 seeking an indicative NZ$100 million (US$64.7 million). The fixed-rate deal is ASB's first domestic benchmark issue since February and the first local benchmark from a big-four New Zealand bank since mid-September, according to KangaNews data.
NEXTDC (NR) priced its domestic market return on November 19. The transaction was upsized to A$100 million (US$72 million) from indicative volume of A$70 million.
A new multicurrency SMART asset-backed securities transaction from Macquarie Bank (Macquarie) was priced on November 19. The deal – SMART ABS Series 2015-4E Trust (SMART 2015-4E) – had total indicative volume of A$500 million (US$356.3 million) equivalent. The deal is backed by automotive and equipment leases, and according to Fitch Ratings (Fitch) will be the fifth SMART transaction to include both consumer and equipment receivables.
On November 18, ANZ and National Australia Bank priced the refinancing of the class A2 notes of Bank of Queensland's Series 2012-1E REDS Trust asset-backed securities (ABS) issue. Price guidance on the new, A$203 million (US$148.7 million), class A2R notes was 105-110 basis points over one-month bank bill swap rate and the tranche has a 3.2-year weighted-average life.
Australian Unity (NR) revealed in an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) announcement on November 17 that it has completed the bookbuild on its senior listed bond offer. The transaction is expected to be Australia's first corporate bond to be issued under simple corporate bond legislation.
Australian corporate issuance has resumed, albeit in limited fashion, with deals pricing for Australian National University and Stockland Trust Management. The semi-government sector has also been active as South Australian Government Financing Authority priced a capped benchmark tap and New South Wales Treasury Corporation repurchased some of its short-dated nominal bonds.
Stockland Trust Management (Stockland) (A-) priced a new seven-year, fixed-rate domestic transaction on November 13, shortly following a round of fixed-income investor meetings. The deal is Stockland's first in the domestic market since it sold A$150 million (US$106 million) of 2019 maturity bonds in August 2013, according to KangaNews data.
The Australian market's latest transaction from a university issuer cements the higher-education sector's place within local capital markets, lead managers on the deal say. Interest in innovative financing avenues continues to grow in the sector, driven by a growing funding need.
New South Wales Treasury Corporation (TCorp) (AAA/Aaa) repurchased A$206 million (US$147.2 million) of its April 2016 maturity nominal bonds on November 12. TCorp revealed earlier in the day that it planned to buy back up to A$300 million of this line.
On November 12, Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) priced the refinancing of the class A3 notes of BankWest's Swan 2010-2 Trust residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issue. The new, class A3-R, notes are for volume of A$190 million (US$135.7 million) and indicative pricing was in the area of 105 basis points over bank bills.
The first bond transaction from an unrated, mid-cap company to launch in the Australian market since June was announced on November 12. Sunland Group (Sunland) (NR) disclosed plans to issue an indicative A$40 million (US$28.3 million) – with capacity to accept oversubscriptions of up to A$10 million – of five-year, fixed-rate notes.