UBS confirms guaranteed bonds in supra/sovereign index
UBS, provider of the most commonly-used benchmark indices in Australian debt markets, confirmed on December 11 that government guaranteed Australian dollar bonds will be placed in the supranational and sovereign section of its non-government index – placing them in the same category as supranational, sovereign and agency (SSA) Kangaroos.ABS flurry positive but not a sign of return to form
A clutch of asset-backed security (ABS) deals in the last weeks of the year is being taken by market participants as a positive sign for a gradual return to health in 2009, but sources connected to the recent deals from Challenger Financial Services (Challenger), Resimac and Macquarie Leasing counsel against over-optimism.Credit trading changes as banks restructure Australian operations
The anticipated process of reorganisation following the credit downturn has started at a number of banks' Australian businesses, with J.P. Morgan and Citigroup among the institutions to cut back on Sydney-based secondary credit market activities in favour of centralised Asian operations.
Massive upsize for CommBank's guaranteed tranche
The government guaranteed 2013 maturity tranches of the deal priced by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AA/Aa1) (CommBank) on December 10 were upsized to an unprecendented combined A$2.2 billion (US$1.45 billion) while the unguaranteed 2011 line the issuer brought at the same time achieved its A$500 million target.