News
On March 5, ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) confirmed it had raised A$970 million (US$757.9 million) after successfully completing Australia's first retail debt transaction of 2015. In a statement filed with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) the issuer revealed it had increased the size from A$850 million after the bookbuild.
On March 3, Downer Group Finance (Downer) – the issuing entity of Downer EDI (BBB) – priced a new seven-year domestic deal in what is its first visit to the market since 2013. The fixed-rate senior-unsecured deal had indicative pricing in the area of 210 basis points over semi-quarterly swap.
Rentenbank (AAA/Aaa/AAA) priced the first increase of its September 2022 Kangaroo bond on March 4. According to KangaNews data, the line was first introduced on February 26 this year, at volume of A$250 million (US$195.4 million) and pricing of 55.75 basis points over Australian government bond.
World Bank (AAA/Aaa) priced a new five-year Kangaroo deal on March 4 in what is its second Australian dollar deal of 2015. According to KangaNews data, the issuer most recently visited the market when added A$350 million (US$273.8 million) to its 2025 line on February 10. That deal priced at 44.25 basis points over Australian government bond.
Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) (AA+/Aa1) launched and priced an increase to its November 2018 floating-rate note issue in the Australian market on March 4. The transaction was increased from the indicative volume of A$500 million (US$390.8 million), and is QTC's first syndicated transaction for 2015.
The majority of analysts – 18 out of 29 – that had been expecting a further cut in the cash rate at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)'s second monetary policy meeting of 2015 were surprised on March 3 when the reserve bank left the rate unchanged at 2.25 per cent. Analysts read a 'wait-and-see' stance into the reserve bank's most recent communication, though the explicit easing bias leads most to expect more cuts ahead.
Rentenbank (AAA/Aaa/AAA) priced a tap to its January 2020 Kauri bond on March 3. According to KangaNews data, the line was first introduced in January this year at volume of NZ$450 million (US$338.7 million) and pricing of 25 basis points over swap.
World Bank (AAA/Aaa) priced the second tap to its 2021 Kauri bond on March 2. According to KangaNews data, the line was first introduced in September last year at a volume of NZ$350 million (US$263.9 million) and pricing of 60.4 basis points over New Zealand government bond (NZGB). It was later increased by a further NZ$250 million in October, with pricing of 61.4 basis points over NZGB.
The latest new Kangaroo deal pricing comes from Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) (AAA/Aaa), which on March 2 increased its 2020 bond. The transaction is NIB's second Kangaroo deal of the year according to KangaNews data – the earlier issue being the inauguration of the 2020.
New Zealand market participants are positive about the state of international demand for local-currency assets, which is supported by global low yields and competitive pricing. They suggest that a shift in deal flow seen over the first two months of the year reflects New Zealand's strong fundamentals.
Kangaroo deal flow continued to dominate during the week under review, though it was a busy week all round in the Australian market. The securitisation market saw the return of two borrowers - Volkwagen Financial Services and Suncorp-Metway - with players saying the recent volume surge may test market capacity. *Registrations are still open for the 2015 KangaNews DCM Summit on March 16 & 17 in Sydney and the KangaNews NZ Capital Markets Forum 2015 on March 19 in Wellington. For an up-to-date agenda and instructions on how to register for the Sydney conference click here, and for the Wellington conference click here.*
On February 27, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Sydney Branch (OCBC Sydney) (AA-/Aa1/AA-) priced a new Australian-dollar denominated, 4.25-year senior-unsecured benchmark issue. According to KangaNews data, the issuer most recently visited the domestic market in April last year when it added A$100 million (US$78.8 million) to its floating-rate 2017. That deal priced at 65 basis points over three-month bank bills.