ABS market on fire

2014 was the best year for structured finance issuance in Australia since the financial crisis, and this year is shaping-up to be just as good, if not better.

Total issuance last year came in at more than A$37 billion. Issuance so far this year is $14.7 billion, compared with $14.2 billion to the end of May last year.



The standout feature of the market this year is ABS issuance, which has taken off while the volume of RMBS transactions has slipped a little.



Year-to-date ABS issuance totals $3.2 billion, including the latest $900 million issue from Macquarie Group. This time last year there had been only one transaction, SMART Series 2014-1 US Trust, which amounted to the equivalent of just $626 million.



The latest SMART ABS issue is the fifth for this year.



As for RMBS issuance year to date, the total is only $10.6 billion, compared with $12.7 billion at the end of May last year. To the end of May last year 18 transactions had been undertaken, compared with 11 so far this year.



We have had fewer deals but with a larger average size. Only one or two more of those will put the year-to-date issuance total ahead of last year.         



The latest SMART ABS Series 2015-2 transaction has a simple three tranche structure that raised $900 million, up from A$500 million when it was launched at the start of the week.

Pricing was only disclosed for the $774 million of Class A notes which, with a weighted average life of two years, were priced at 85 basis points over 30 day bank bills.


Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investor Service have assigned preliminary ratings of AAAsf/Aaasf and AAsf/Aa3sf to the Class A and B notes. The Seller notes are unrated.