Launching with precision
ANZ may well have chosen precisely the right time to launch its latest Additional Tier 1 capital issue. The issue will be known as ANZ Capital Notes 4.The bank is looking to raise A$1.0 billion, more or less, and is offering notes with a call date one year longer than any other comparable note in the market. The Capital Notes 4 will be callable in March 2024, one year later the ANZ's Capital Notes 3 which are callable in March 2023.With a 6.5 year term to call investors will expect to be compensated in terms of the margin applied to determine the distributions paid. Investors will also expect that margin to reflect the A$4.5 billion of Additional Tier 1 capital that has already been sold in the market this year, more than that seen in all of 2015 (but less than the A$7.4 billion of supply seen in 2014 which sent the market into an oversupply slump).Moreover, investors will look at the issuance seen to date and note that CBA paid a margin of 520 basis points on its PERLS VIII notes which will be called in October 2021, Westpac paid a margin of 490 bps on its Capital Notes 4 which will be called in December 2021, and NAB paid a margin of 495 bps on its Capital Notes 2 which will be called in July 2022. Investors will also be aware that ANZ sold Additional Tier 1 capital in the US back in June, and paid the Australian dollar equivalent of 571 bps for notes that, admittedly, have a ten year term to call.So what is the margin being proposed by ANZ for its Capital Notes 4, with a March 2024 call date? ANZ is proposing a margin of 470 bps to 490 bps over the 90 day bank bill rate.The margin to be paid will be determined in a bookbuild scheduled for next Tuesday.The margin being offered seems paltry given the pricing considerations outlined above but conditions in the market for ASX-listed Additional Tier 1 capital have changed dramatically over the course of 2016 to date. In the first quarter of the year, many listed notes were trading well below face value, but the incessant search for yield has seen prices rally and many notes are now trading well above face value.The weighted average yield for ASX-listed, Additional Tier 1 capital peaked at almost 7.6 per cent per annum (allowing for franking credits) at the end of February but by the end of last month had fallen to 6.2 per cent. And the weighted average yield has continued to fall through the month so far.The notes with the longest term to call in March 2023, ANZ's Capital Notes 3, currently have a trading margin of 429 bps. CBA's PERLS VII notes with a call date in December 2022, have a margin of 464 bps. This note comes closest to the margin proposed by ANZ for its Capital Notes 4.Westpac's Capital Notes 3 have a trading margin of