Briefs: TMB launches unsecured note issue, SecurePay partners with NAB, Fintech hub for Sydney, Fiji

Banking Day staff
  • Teachers Mutual Bank has launched its inaugural issue of senior unsecured notes. The bank is seeking A$50 million of funding. Indicative pricing on the three-year floating rate notes is 105 basis points to 110 bps over the three-month bank bill swap rate. Earlier this month Moody's gave TMB a long-term rating of A3. The bank also has a BBB+ rating from Standard & Poor's.
  • Australia Post's payment gateway business SecurePay will acquire payments for merchants under a white label arrangement with National Australia Bank, AP said yesterday. NAB has similar arrangement in place with Pin Payments, Stripe and Braintree. NAB will delegate credit approval to SecurePay, while the latter will impose fees only on transactions (and avoid minimum monthly fees, for example).
  • A consortium of fintech companies, the Committee of Sydney and the office of the New South Premier has been formed to work on the development of a physical fintech hub for Sydney, according to the Australian Financial Review. The hub, which is scheduled to open in April next year, wiil provide a venue for technology start-ups, the venture capital industry and banks to collaborate. A request for proposal has been sent to property groups to provide space for the hub.
  • The Reserve Bank of Fiji will relax foreign exchange controls from January 2015. According to a press release by the RBF: "The Reserve Bank has progressively relaxed exchange controls in line with its accommodative stance on monetary policy and the level of foreign reserves." Most payments are delegated to commercial banks and foreign exchange dealers. Delegated limits to cover the payment of merchanted goods doubled to F$200,000. Limits were also lifted on medical allowance and education payments.