No deviation from inflation focus, new RBA governor confirms
The new governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Michele Bullock, has used her first public speech in the role to affirm its laser focus on inflation – noting that the other aspects of the bank’s mandate may be subordinate to, or have complementary outcomes with, inflation direction. Analaysts and markets largely view the central bank’s November cash rate decision as a line-ball call with the 25 October CPI print for Q3 likely to be a key input.
Scape’s A$1.4 billion conversion ups the score for ‘sleeper’ SLLs
The ‘sleeper’ sustainability-linked loan has been mooted as a potential answer for businesses whose financing requirements do not conveniently line up with their sustainability target setting. By converting a substantial bank facility to sustainability-linked format, student accommodation provider Scape has demonstrated that the sleeper can awake.
CBA reignites tier-two market with oversubscribed domestic print
Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s latest tier-two transaction was the tightest pricing achieved for a security of its type in the domestic market since April 2022. The borrower says it sought to take advantage of a promising market window and a relative dearth of new tier-two supply in recent weeks.
Scale of local bid validates QTC’s new syndication call
A primarily domestic bid was enough to deliver a roughly two-times oversubscription to Queensland Treasury Corporation’s return to syndicated issuance. With limited new-issuance windows before year end, the state treasury corporation brought its latest deal in close proximity to other government-sector bookbuilds but says the deal cluster supported investor confidence rather than diluting liquidity.
Woolworths the latest well-received blue-chip corporate to print in Australia
Woolworths was greeted by an almost four-times oversubscription in its return to the Australian dollar market, demonstrating once again the reception afforded to high-quality domestic corporate names. The transaction also experienced a significant margin compression, leading deal sources to comment on the strength of the Woolworths credit and the good timing of its execution.