There was NZ$295 million of corporate bonds sold in the New Zealand market last week, which made for the largest week of issuance there since Queensland Treasury Corp topped up its September 2017 kauri bond, by NZ$325 million, in early August. Year to date issuance in New Zealand now stands at NZ$9.5 billion, which compares well with the record total of NZ$10.2 billion in 2007.Auckland International Airport completed its NZ$130 million, November 2016, bond issue after accepting oversubscriptions of NZ$50 million. This column two weeks ago noted that AIA had succeeded in raising the initial NZ$80 million that it had sought.ANZ National raised NZ$135 million spread over two tranches: NZ$75 million with a June 2010 maturity and yielding a margin of 85 basis points over swap; and NZ$60 million with a June 2014 maturity and yielding a margin of 135 bps over swap. Both tranches were additions to bond issues originally undertaken on May 30, at margins of 68 bps and 117 bps, and take outstandings to NZ$175 million and NZ$235 million, respectively.The bonds were sold to both retail and institutional investors and are government guaranteed only in the hands of the former. It is not clear what this says about the pricing of the latest additions to the lines but the credit margins do seem to have held quite well given the significant deterioration in credit markets that has occurred since. Tauranga City Council was the other issuer, raising NZ$30 million for five years paying a 7.05% fixed coupon. The council is now seeking a further NZ$20 million in over subscriptions.There is little sign of any thawing in the Australian corporate bond market however, unless one takes heart from the news that Banco Santander is undertaking a 'non-deal' roadshow this week. Banco Santander has not previously issued in this market but is presumably preparing for when conditions return to some sort of normality.In recent years Banco Santander has been very acquisitive and has grown accordingly. The bank acquired Abbey National in the UK, when NAB couldn't decide whether it really wanted it or not, and last year it joined with Royal Bank of Scotland and Fortis to acquire ABN Amro. This latter deal caused indigestion for RBS and fatally so, for Fortis, but Banco Santander seems to have swallowed its portion without even a hiccup. A €20 billion investment allowed Banco Santander to acquire Banco Real in Brazil, Banca Antonveneta in Italy and Interbank in the Netherlands, in the break-up of ABN. More recently, Banco Santander has acquired UK victims of the global financial crisis, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley: both have been looked at closely by NAB in the past, as well. The roadshow is being hosted by JP Morgan and Westpac, according to KangaNews. Of less significance for the domestic market, Commonwealth Bank became the latest to expand its on-balance sheet, repo-eligible, RMBS program, Medallion Trust Series 2008-1R. The bank has added $22.1 billion to the Class A tranche established in early May, to take the