KangaNews is proud to announce the winners of the institutional and deal categories in the KangaNews Awards 2021. At the end of another hectic year in the Australian and New Zealand capital markets, KangaNews received votes from hundreds of market participants keen to recognise the achievements of 2021's most outstanding performers.

Kiwibank is the first New Zealand issuer to price an additional tier-one deal under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s new bank-capital definitions. The transaction was popular with retail buyers – nearly three times oversubscribed – as the domestic market continues to rally.

Housing affordability has been a critical issue in New Zealand for some time but a price explosion in 2020 has heightened the national focus. The government has announced a suite of policies to tackle the issue but efforts to press gang monetary and regulatory policy into service have run into resistance.

Kiwibank has become the first New Zealand bank to test the waters for subordinated debt issuance since the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) revealed its new bank-capital requirements a year ago. The borrower says the impact of COVID-19 on its capital position and strong asset growth in 2020 propelled it to consider the transaction.

On 30 November, Kiwibank launched an indicative NZ$275 million (US$193.2 million) 10-year tier-two deal with an interest rate reset date in December 2025. The transaction is the first bank capital deal in the New Zealand dollar market since the Reserve Bank of New Zealand finalised new bank capital requirements in December 2019.