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As Swiss Re launches a roadshow for its first T1 hybrid Kangaroo issue, a perpetual non-call 10 note, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) is confident that the hybrid Kangaroo market is set for growth.

The proposed acquisition of US agency SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae) (A/A2/A+) by a private equity consortium has resulted in the issuer being placed on credit watch by all three ratings agencies.

Sydney-based Kapstream Capital is preparing to launch its first fund, the Kapstream Absolute Return Income Fund, trading global fixed income with an absolute return strategy.

Issuers, intermediaries and investors speaking at the recent KangaNews/Westpac speed-meeting summit agree that while the Kangaroo market should continue to experience impressive growth, there is still room for development in terms of product range, transparency and market depth.

Kommunalbanken Norway (KBN) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) made its first foray into the Kangaroo market for over a year with the issue of a A$200 million (US$163 million), triple-A rated note priced on March 21.

Spanish agency Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO) brought its second Kangaroo deal for 2007 on February 16 – a A$300 million 6.125 per cent February 2014 deal led by RBC Capital Markets and UBS Investment Bank. The reoffer spread was 12 basis points under three-month basis swap (BBSW) or 33 basis points over the 6.5 per cent May 2013 government bond.

On February 21 Dutch agency Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB) (AAA/Aaa) priced a A$100 million increase to its 6.25 per cent August 2013 Kangaroo bonds, led by Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB). This is the first time NWB has issued a tap since its inaugural Kangaroo deal in March 2005. NWB followed on March 14 with a A$200 million March 2012 bond, led by TD Securities. The issuer now has A$1.1 billion outstanding in four maturities in the Kangaroo market.

On February 28 supranational EUROFIMA started its Kangaroo activity for 2007 with a A$100 million increase of its January 2014 bonds led by UBS Investment Bank. The reoffer to swap was minus 13.5 basis points, or 33.5 basis points over the 6.25 per cent May 15 2013 commonwealth government bond.

On March 7 Dexia Municipal Agency (DexiaMA) (AAA/Aaa/AAA) started its 2007 Kangaroo activity with a A$100 million increase of its February 2012 obligations foncières led by RBC Capital Markets.

On March 13 the European Investment Bank (EIB) brought a substantial increase to its new January 2017 bonds, opened in January this year. The A$400 million increase doubles the size of the outstanding bonds in this maturity, and brings the EIB’s total outstanding in the Kangaroo bond market to A$5.05 billion. The increase to the 10-year deal was led by RBC Capital Markets and priced at 34.5 basis points over the reference government bond, which equates to 18 basis points through swap.

On March 14 KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) priced A$300 million of March 2017 bonds via ANZ Investment Bank and TD Securities. This is KfW’s second new point on the curve so far this year and it now has one of the deepest curves in the Kangaroo market.

On March 8 it was announced that Emirates Bank and National Bank of Dubai will merge, to create the largest bank in the six Arab Gulf states (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)), the Middle East and North Africa, with assets of US$45 billion.