CommBank and ANZ lead another US$4 billion-plus funding week
Appetite for government guaranteed bonds from Australian bank issuers showed no sign of letting up in the past week with domestic and Japanese investor providing the bulk of the US$4.02 billion equivalent raised in total, headlined by benchmark Australian dollar and yen deals from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AA/Aa1) (CommBank) and ANZ Banking Group (AA/Aa1) (ANZ) respectively.
CommBank gets unguaranteed tranche away but size limited
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AA/Aa1) (CommBank) successfully priced its combined guaranteed and unguaranteed twin maturity Australian domestic deal on February 12, but the respective size of the two segments demonstrated the extent to which the investor base still favours sovereign-backed paper.
NZ market hopeful Fonterra's NZ$800 million success will not saturate demand
The vibrant New Zealand corporate bond market hit a new peak on February 5 when Fonterra (A+/AA-) announced a firm allocation of NZ$800 million (US$412.88 million) in its 2015 domestic transaction. The very success of the trade – the largest corporate deal in New Zealand history – has raised questions of its own, with market participants expressing concern about secondary liquidity and the impact of such a large deal on ongoing primary demand.Guaranteed issuance firing again as Samurai window opens
Australian government guaranteed issuance spiked up again last week led by Westpac Banking Corporation (AA/Aa1) (Westpac)'s massive yen transaction – the largest ever by an Australian issuer at ¥245.3 billion (A$3.97 billion). Total Australian guaranteed issuance reached the equivalent of US$4.01 billion in the week – almost double the previous two weeks combined.
Rabobank increases unguaranteed bond on back of strong investor demand
A day after its A$600 million fixed and floating rate bond issue Rabobank Nederland (AAA/Aaa) (Rabobank) increased both the fixed and floating rate note (FRN) tranches by A$100 million each, to bring the total size of the fixed tranche to A$300 million and the FRNs to A$500 million. The increases priced at the same level as the inaugural bonds - 130 basis points over swap (fixed) and the bank bill swap rate (FRNs).