Online articles

• 15 pointers to taxonomy direction

  The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute has laid out core recommendations for the proposed form of an Australian sustainable finance taxonomy. The taxonomy will provide the basis for quantifying climate impact and risk at organisational level, which in turn will lay a foundation stone of a forthcoming mandatory climate risk reporting regime.

• A job half done?

  The dawn of 2023 came accompanied by a welcome return of positive sentiment in the fixed-income and credit markets after a fairly sobering year for bond investors among others. One cannot help but wonder whether confidence about rates direction and economic outcomes is at least somewhat overcooked.

• Activity review: back up the ladder

  An end to central bank funding saw a rebound in bank issuance in capital markets in 2022. This activity bolstered an Australian credit market that otherwise struggled for diversity – on the issuer and investor side. Meanwhile, the New Zealand market and the Australian high-grade sector were remarkably consistent in their volume of issuance despite rapidly changing market dynamics.

• Fast start for Australian banks in global markets

  Australia’s largest banks typically move quickly to get ahead of wholesale funding tasks with substantial offshore issuance at the start of the calendar year. With a big refinancing task ahead, 2023 has been no exception. Bank treasuries say a conducive buy side supported a particularly busy start to the year, while some market sources say it was also a case of making hay while the sun shines.

• Orange is the new green: latest ESG label aims to spearhead gender-focused investment

  Impact Investment Exchange (IIX)’s most recent issue, a US$50 million orange bond, is a first for the global debt capital markets. IIX and ANZ – a lead on the transaction – hope the new label will help spearhead intentional and robust investment with a gender lens.

• Securitisation investors fret noncall risk

  The focus of commentary in the Australian securitisation market has tended to be on borrowers’ ability to keep making loan payments as higher interest rates cut deeper into household balance sheets. But investors are also paying close attention to technical factors in the structured finance asset class, including the potential for some deals not to be called at the earliest opportunity.

• Securitisation sets flight path to minimise turbulence

  The Australian and New Zealand securitisation sector has grown significantly in recent years, driven by a proliferation of nonbank lenders. With rates rising for the first time in years and an economic downturn on the horizon, the market is readying itself for ongoing challenges. But participants at the Australian Securitisation Forum’s annual conference, which attracted a record attendance to Sydney at the end of...

• SSAs pounce on Kangaroos

  Favourable Australian dollar swap dynamics and elevated investor appetite for high-grade paper propelled the supranational, sovereign and agency Kangaroo market in early 2023, with January one of the biggest issuance months for several years. The surge in issuance came despite a relatively weak bid from Japanese investors, which have until recently been a main supporter of Kangaroo issuance.

• US private placement reliability keeps it on the Australasian agenda

  Australian and New Zealand corporate borrowers were somewhat less active in the US private placement market in 2022 than they have been historically. But participants at a roundtable hosted by KangaNews and MUFG Securities in Miami in January note that this was in line with dramatically reduced corporate issuance across the board, and suggest US private placements will be a favoured option as soon as supply picks...