The nature and likelihood of pre-failure external support for banks has been brought back into focus following an update to the methodology Moody’s Ratings uses to assess the Australian banking sector. Some banks do not believe the new analysis gives sufficient weight to the likelihood of external support before the point of failure – even for entities not deemed systemically important.

The KangaNews-Westpac Institutional Bank Corporate Debt Summit 2023 took place in Sydney in mid-October. A record number of delegates gathered to discuss the present and future of the Australian corporate environment, from the economic outlook and business conditions to the forthcoming impact of generative AI. In the mix was a steady but unspectacular corporate bond issuance environment that belies fundamental growth in domestic credit.

The Australian Securitisation Forum’s 2023 annual conference attracted a record number of delegates – well over a thousand attended – and offered its most wide-ranging agenda ever. The securitisation industry has navigated higher rates and increasing global uncertainty well to date, with record volume printing in 2023 and a notable uptick in collateral diversity. The road ahead may be tricky but the market is facing it with confidence.

KangaNews is proud to announce the winners of the institutional and deal categories in the KangaNews Awards 2023. At the end of another busy year in the Australian and New Zealand capital markets, KangaNews received votes from hundreds of market participants keen to recognise the achievements of 2023's most outstanding performers.

The centrepiece of the KangaNews Mutual Sector Wholesale Funding Seminar is the discussion of funding conditions for the sector and the credit market more generally. In a year that has seen a clutch of significant bank failures offshore – but also notable growth in the capacity available to financial institution issuers in the Australian dollar term debt market – speakers at the 30 August seminar counselled mutual banks to stick to the old values of investor engagement, open communication and access to funding diversity.

Paul Gruenwald, New York-based chief economist at S&P Global, shared his global insights at the KangaNews New Zealand Debt Capital Market Summit in Auckland in September – taking in regional and global economies, US dollar strength and economic trajectory, and the growing influence of sustainability on economics.

The KangaNews Mutual Sector Wholesale Funding Seminar brings together leaders from mutual banks across Australia, to share intelligence on the sector, its competition and growth prospects, and funding options. The 2023 event, hosted on 30 August, featured wide-ranging insights into relevant topics from consolidation to cyber security.

The KangaNews New Zealand Debt Capital Market Summit took place in Auckland in September, at a critical juncture for all of the local political, economic, market and environmental transition stories. Conversations at the conference were more wide-ranging than ever, with contributions from the political, business and markets sectors at a moment when the agenda for the coming years is being formed in real time.

The demands of specialist lending funded by securitisation require Australasian nonbanks to ensure their books have maximum resilience to economic conditions. Arrears performance has so far held up very well in the current cycle and there are – albeit very early – signs that conditions may be improving for nonbanks.

Alarming headlines about office vacancy rates are the most visible sign of a downturn in the commercial property space. While cyclical and structural factors are weighing on the sector, though, investors and rating agencies continue to back the sound fundamentals of its Australian issuers.