Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) has printed the first Australian-origin transaction to reference an alternative benchmark rate. The bank issued £125 million (US$158.8 million) of one-year notes on 3 December at 40 basis points over the sterling overnight index average (SONIA), via RBC Capital Markets (RBCCM). Deal sources say the UK market is the most progressed towards base-rate change, but add that there is much work still to be done ahead of the forthcoming expiry of interbank offered rates.