News
The economy-wide impact of COVID-19 has affected Australian corporate borrowers in a host of ways. But access to funds has generally remained in place as issuers navigate a path back to some type of normality – even for those in the most affected sectors.
COVID-19 has spurred record volume of social-bond issuance and some sustainable-finance experts believe the crisis will be the catalyst for much more widespread adoption of the instrument. Despite the best efforts of advocates, however, the hurdles to habitual use of social bonds, especially in the private sector, remain high.
The Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) and New Zealand Debt Management (NZDM) syndicated new bond lines on the same day for the first time, on 14 July. Deal sources say targeting different parts of the curve helped both transactions proceed well.
In June, Westpac Institutional Bank and KangaNews brought together the biggest issuers in the Australian government sector to discuss a rollercoaster ride in markets since the end of March. The issuers describe a relatively straight-line improvement since the thrills and spills of the March-April period, with returning investors supporting increasing issuance volume and liquidity at extended tenor.
New Zealand’s government-sector issuers experienced market upheaval as severe as their neighbours in Australia during the height of the COVID-19 crisis in March and April. Intervention from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and an enviable pace of economic reopening have improved the outlook, but issuers at a KangaNews-Westpac roundtable in June say plenty of challenges remain to be faced.
Investors are adjusting to a new normal in the Australian high-grade market as conditions settle after March’s turmoil. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) bond purchases slowed to a halt by the mid-way point of the year, but investors say its presence is still bringing stability and creating opportunities.
Investors are adjusting to a new normal in the Australian high-grade market as conditions settle after March’s turmoil. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) bond purchases slowed to a halt by the mid-way point of the year, but investors say its presence is still bringing stability and creating opportunities.
National Australia Bank (NAB) became the first Australian major bank to enter public debt capital markets since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis on 10 July, with the pricing of a second deal from the issuer’s wholesale-targeted additional tier-one (AT1) programme.
The KangaNews Market People of the Year are the individuals who voters in the KangaNews Awards 2019 believe went above and beyond their roles to contribute to the development of the Australian and New Zealand debt markets. There are no restrictions on the firms, positions or seniority of winners – voters are simply asked to consider who contributed most to the market in either or both 2019 specifically or across the span of a career.
Firstmac’s latest residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) deal demonstrates the continued rebound of nonbank securitisation since the COVID-19 crisis, the issuer says, with deep investor engagement leading to strong demand. Firstmac’s immediate liquidity needs are now met, allowing it to focus on retaking prime-mortgage market share from the major banks.
DBS Group Holdings made its Australian dollar market return on 8 July. The issuer has been a reliable source of Australian dollar supply in recent years and says its latest deal was predicated by a currency need at the parent bank and a view that funding markets may deteriorate in the short-to-medium term.
SEEK says it is pleased with the outcome of a recent liability-management exercise, despite a tap to its 2026 subordinated bond coming up short of launch volume. The issuer says it is in a comfortable liquidity position even with a challenging operating environment and has been able to complete the redemption of its 2022 maturity bonds.