Briefs: Bluestone launches RMBS, BNP Paribas Securities Services appoints acting head, Adelaide Bank 28 October 2014 4:13PM John Kavanagh Briefs, Non-conforming lender Bluestone Group has launched its first issue of residential mortgage-backed securities for the year. Bluestone is hoping to raise A$209 million through the issue, Sapphire XIII Series 2014-1 Trust. Two-thirds (67.2 per cent) of the mortgages in the portfolio are low-doc loans and 50.5 per cent are credit impaired. BNP Paribas Securities Services has appointed Ian Perkins acting head of its Australia and New Zealand business. Perkins joined BNP Paribas as head of sales in January, after working at Morse Consulting, a management consulting firm specializing in financial services. BNP Paribas Securities Serves is a global custodian with US$9.4 trillion of assets under custody. Adelaide Bank has followed up last week's reduction in its standard variable home loan rate with cuts to the rate of its two low doc products, SmartDoc and SmartDoc Plus. The SmartDoc variable rate has been cut 34 basis points to 5.85 per cent and SmartDoc Plus by 45 bps to 5.99 per cent. Adelaide Bank supplies loan to brokers. Bank of Queensland has launched a new five-year Australian dollar denominated floating and/or fixed senior unsecured bond, expected to be rated A3 by Moody's, A- by Standard & Poor's and BBB+ by Fitch. ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and UBS are all working on the transaction.