Commonwealth announces temporary guarantee of state borrowing
On March 25 Australian federal treasurer, Wayne Swan, announced that the commonwealth government will implement a temporary sovereign guarantee on existing and future bonds from semi-governments. States have 28 days to take up the option to guarantee existing stock, but the treasury has yet to clarify how long the guarantee will be in place. The announcement comes after a ministerial meeting in Canberra today.NZ corporate bond market activity strong
Following a busy few months the New Zealand bond market continues to be vibrant, with retail-targeted deals from corporates generally receiving strong support. This week Auckland City Council closed its five-year bond issue significantly oversubscribed, while NZ Post set the rate for its subordinated bonds at 7.5 per cent and announced that the full allocation of oversubscriptions would be issued. In addition, Vector announced it may issue NZ$150 million of five-year senior bonds.AMP Bank prices RMBS at tightest margin seen in AOFM-backed deal
AMP Bank (AMP) has priced A$535 million of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) through the Progress 2009-1 Trust. The Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) was a cornerstone investor, buying all the A$425 million of longer-dated triple-A rated Class A2 notes.
Tabcorp CEO highlights funding flexibility with retail bond offer
Tabcorp (BBB+) today launched a five-year A$200 million (US$142 million) bond offering to both retail and institutional investors by lodging a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). Price guidance is 400-450 basis points over the three-month bank bill swap rate (BBSW), with the margin to be set on April 1.RBS Australia prices AUD bonds guaranteed by UK sovereign
RBS Australia Branch (RBS) (A+/Aa3/AA-) has priced A$1.3 billion of fixed and floating rate notes guaranteed by the UK sovereign. Over 40 accounts participated in the deal - from Asia, Europe and Australia.