Latest News
On 23 November, Royal Bank of Canada Sydney Branch (RBC Sydney) (AA-/A1/AA) launched a new one-year domestic benchmark floating-rate transaction. The forthcoming deal has indicative price guidance of 30 basis points area over three-month bank bills. Pricing is expected on day of launch, according to lead manager RBC Capital Markets.
Firstmac mandated J.P. Morgan and Westpac Institutional Bank to explore a new residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction on 21 November, with a potential Australian dollar-denominated RMBS to follow, subject to market conditions.
United Overseas Bank Sydney Branch (UOB Sydney) (AA-/Aa1/AA-) launched a one-year Australian dollar benchmark deal on 21 November with price guidance in the area of 26 basis points over three-month bills. Pricing is expected on the same day as launch, according to lead managers ANZ, UOB and Westpac Institutional Bank.
Leads and issuer on Australia’s third-ever wholesale additional tier-one (AT1) deal and the first to write off rather than convert at point of nonviability (PoNV) – as printed by ME Bank on 16 November – say the transaction demonstrates the continued evolution of bank capital optimisation.
Think Tank Group (Think Tank) has mandated Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Institutional Bank to engage investors on a potential Australian dollar SME-backed transaction, which may emerge subsequently subject to market conditions.
RedZed Lending Solutions (RedZed) revealed on 20 November that it has mandated Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank to engage investors in relation to a potential residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transaction. A transaction under the RedZed Trust Series RMBS programme may follow.
Lloyds Banking Group returned to the Australian market during the second full week of November, with an A$450 million (US$307.7 million) 10-year Kangaroo. Meanwhile, ME Bank priced an A$200 million perpetual additional tier-one, Challenger Life Company printed an A$400 million tier-two and Commonwealth Bank of Australia netted A$2.65 billion in its second residential mortgage-backed securities transaction of 2017.
