NAB and ANZ close to covered bond issuance as programmes get rated [UPDATED]

The race to be the first Australian bank to issue a covered bond is heating up as ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) joined National Australia Bank (NAB) in finalising ratings for its covered bond programme. NAB initially appeared to be in pole position following the seeding of its cover pool and confirmation of its programme's triple-A rating in a presale report from Fitch Ratings (Fitch) on November 2, but the ANZ programme secured triple-A ratings from Fitch and Moody's Investors Service just a day later.