ABS activity picks up

It was a busy week in the asset-backed securities market, with Westpac and Macquarie Group completing deals.

Westpac raised A$800 million through an issue of securities backed by auto receivables - Crusade ABS 2015-1.

Westpac will pay a margin of 78 basis points over the one-month bank bill swap rate on the $648 million of A notes, which have a weighted average life of 2.6 years.

Pricing on the B, C, D, E and seller notes was not disclosed.

Macquarie raised the equivalent of A$755 million through an issue that included US dollar and Australian dollar notes.

SMART ABS Series 2015-1US Trust is backed by a portfolio of auto receivables originated by Macquarie Leasing.

Macquarie will pay a margin of 100 bps over the bank bill swap rate on the A$197 million of A4 notes, which have a weighted average life of 3.5 years.