A standout week in the capital markets

October ranked as the weakest month of the year for capital market issuance, with issuance totalling just A$5.7 billion. But things have picked up; last week seven issuers sold $3.9 billion of bonds.

ANZ (rated AA-) and the Sydney branch of Credit Suisse (rated A) stand out as the benchmark issuers.

The Local Government Funding Authority (Aa2) also stands out for its long-awaited debut while Crown Resorts Limited (rated BBB) returned after an absence of more than two years.

ANZ sold $2 billion of five-year bonds in two tranches, priced at 85 basis points over the bank bill swap rate. That $1.75 billion was sold in the form of floating rate notes should be viewed positively - few investors are prepared to be exposed to fixed rates now.

On Friday, Credit Suisse priced a $750 million three-year FRN deal at 85 bps over bank bills.

The Local Government Funding Vehicle sought to raise $200 million in two tranches, a five-year tranche offering a margin of 75 bps and a seven-year tranche offering a margin of 90 bps. Demand was sufficient to increase the tranche sizes to $108.7 million and $131.37 million at the spreads offered.

Suncorp (rated A+) got away $100 million of three-year FRNs, at a spread of 65 bps over bank bills, while KfW (rated AAA) added $300 million to its January 2019 line. The increase priced at 49.5 bps over CGS and takes the volume outstanding to $1.3 billion.

And last Monday, Westpac (rated AA-) sold a A$100 million one-year FRN at a spread of 31 bps over bank bills.

Kiwibank (rated A+) raised NZ$200 million. The three year FRNs carry a margin of 65 bps over bank bills.