BOQ and Macquarie ABS deals upsized
Buoyant conditions in the residential mortgage-backed securities market have flowed into the asset-backed securities market. Two ABS issues this week, from Macquarie Group and Bank of Queensland, have been upsized.Macquarie increased the size of its issue, Smart ABS Series 2013-2US Trust, from A$540.2 million, at its launch earlier this week, to $853 million at its pricing yesterday. The bulk of the issue was denominated in US dollars and sold to US money-market investors.Bank of Queensland launched its Series 2013-1 REDS EHP Trust with the aim of raising $500 million but ended up with $900 million. Seventeen Australian investors and five overseas investors participated in the deal.Both issues were supported by vehicle lease receivables (plus equipment leases in BOQ's case).While the upsizing of both deals indicates strong demand, Macquarie's pricing sent mixed signals (see report below).Pricing on BOQ's $721.8 million A tranche, which has a weighted average life of 1.4 years, is 100 basis points over the one-month bank bill swap rate.Pricing on the $45 million B tranche, which has weighted average life of 1.9 years, is 145 bps over swap.Pricing on the C, D and E tranches, and the seller notes was not disclosed.