Australian deal flow showed no sign of slowing on the lead up to the Easter long weekend. Securitisaion flow resumed with three new RMBS deals from Liberty Financial, AFG Securities and Pepper Australia. Meanwhile the World Bank priced the first-ever Kangaroo green bond, designed to fund projects targeted at climate change issues which directly affect developing countries.

Issuer, investor and intermediary participants in the Australian domestic market’s first-ever green bond transaction say the product is not simply one for specialist socially responsible investment (SRI) portfolios. In fact, the growth of sustainability targets across the Australian investment landscape – especially in the industry superannuation funds sector – is driving widespread excitement about the prospects for the green-bond asset class.

Pepper Australia (Pepper) priced a US and Australian dollar issue on April 17. The deal was upsized to a final A$500 million (US$467.9 million) equivalent from a provisional total volume of A$402.5 million equivalent.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)’s first domestic senior-unsecured transaction of 2014 saw the bank price A$2 billion (US$1.87 billion) of five-year paper split between fixed- and floating-rate tranches. The domestic market was one of several options that were open to the issuer, CBA says, with global spread compression continuing to provide considerable choice.

World Bank priced its first green bond issue in the Kangaroo market on April 15, pricing A$300 million (US$280.9 million) in a transaction which the issuer says was placed with 15 accounts including a range of major Australian institutional investors. World Bank green bonds are designed to fund projects targeted at climate change issues which directly affect developing countries, the issuer says.