Briefs: Westpac buys back more guaranteed debt, Bendigo and Adelaide launches RMBS, Wotif adopts vir
Westpac will buy back US$3.7 billion of government guaranteed senior medium-term notes. The notes had maturities of July and September 2014. The buyback will lower Westpac's cost of funds and also reduce its refinancing requirement in 2014 by about A$4 billion. In an indication of the strength of the wholesale funding market, the bank has bought back a total of A$7.3 billion of high-cost government guaranteed debt this financial year. Bendigo and Adelaide bank has launched its second issue of residential mortgage-backed securities for the year, seeking to raise A$500 million. The transaction, Torrens Series 2013-2 Trust, is a securitisation of prime residential mortgages. In February, the bank raised $850 million through an RMBS issue, paying 95 basis points over the swap rate for the top tranche. Wrights Express says travel website Wotif will use the WEX virtual card solution from August. According to Wrights, its virtual card technology "is used just once per transaction, while users can set control value limits." Wrights also said that Webjet, another travel service, is also adopting its corporate payment solutions. This includes the use of its virtual card product. Small shareholders in RHG have written to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, asking it to look into the proposed takeover of the company, according to a report in The Australian. Shareholders have complained that they have received no information about the offer that the company received three weeks ago. The report said one shareholder has also asked ASIC to look at the links between one of the bidders, an investment company headed by former RHG director Trevor Loewensohn, and RHG.