German development bank returns to the local debt capital market after ten years
Germany's NRW.Bank made its second visit to the Australian debt capital market last week, after a gap of ten years, and raised a curiously small amount of money.NRW.Bank is the development bank of North Rhine-Westphalia and is headquartered in both Dusseldorf and Munster. It sold a minimal A$50 million of January 2027 bonds, at a spread of 78.75 basis points over commonwealth government securities.In 2006 NRW.Bank sold A$300 million of five-year bonds, priced at 50 bps over CGS.The Sydney branch of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (rated A) was the largest issuer in volume in the domestic corporate bond market last week. The bank sold $500 million of three-year floating rate notes, priced at 117 bps over bank bills.ME (rated BBB+) also sold three-year FRNs, attracting orders of $225 million at 145 bps over bank bills.ANZ (rated AA-) and Westpac (rated AA-) tapped their July 2026 and June 2026 lines for $100 million and $50 million respectively. Both issues were priced at just 125 bps over swap.CBA (rated AA-) raised five-year funds the week before and paid 121 bps over swap. The minimal difference in pricing between the issues might suggest a very flat yield curve between five years and ten or, more likely, ANZ and Westpac were meeting a very specific demand.Province of Quebec (rated A+) added $75 million to its May 2026 line, taking the total outstanding to $435 million. The increase was priced at 79.75 bps over CGS.The Australian branch of Rabobank (rated A+) added $50 million to its May 2026 line. The lines now totals $280 million and the increase was priced at 135 bps over swap.Given equivalent credit ratings and terms to maturity, the pricing differences are surprising but presumably are attributable to differences in risk weightings in bank portfolios.Auckland Council (rated AA-) tapped its March 2026 line for the fourth time since opening the line last September. This time the council added A$30 million at a spread of 80 bps over swap.The line now stands at $270 million.In New Zealand, Kexim (rated AA-) otherwise known as Export-Import Bank of Korea, made its debut, selling NZ$350 million of five year bonds, priced at 150 bps over New Zealand government bonds.Kexim joins sister organisation Korea Development Bank, which made its New Zealand debut in April, selling NZ$200 million of three-year FRNs.Offshore, ANZ was the standout issuer, raising a total of US$1.5 billion in the US s144A market.??The bank sold US$1 billion of three-year bonds, at a spread of 85 bps over US Treasury bonds and added US$500 million to the June 2021 line that it opened in May. The increase takes the size of the line to US$1.35 billion.