International corporate bond issuance by Australian entities has also been substantial in 2009 and again it is the banks with government guaranteed bond issues that have led a record-breaking performance. Total offshore issuance for the year to date stands at the equivalent of A$126 billion, well ahead of the 2008 record of more than A$94 billion. The Australian banks continue to dominate activity, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the total and up until June, virtually all of the issuance was government guaranteed. The only exceptions to this were various small private placement type transactions and nab's ₤500 million, five-year bond issue in mid-May - the first non-guaranteed issue offshore of any significant size. Since then, non-guaranteed offshore issuance by the domestic banks has accounted for 18 per cent, 46 per cent and 79 per cent of the banks' total issuance in June, July and August, respectively. However, the proportion of non-guaranteed issuance slipped back in September to 37 per cent, as concerns rose that the availability of guarantee support might soon be withdrawn. These fears appear to have been unfounded.It is this rush of guaranteed issuance that has taken the total for September to the equivalent of A$15.2 billion - the third largest monthly total so far this year. (January was the largest month at A$21.6 billion, but the Australian dollar has appreciated by 30 per cent against the United States dollar since then.) The domestic banks are responsible for 90 per cent of the issuance this month.Making comparisons of credit spreads applied to offshore bond issues and domestic issues is always difficult, with allowances having to be made for the particular market being tapped and the basis swap applicable to the currency of issue. However, using US s144A issuance as a rough guide, such issuance at the start of the year by one of the four major banks attracted much the same level of credit spread as in the domestic market. Three-year issuance was priced around 150 basis points and five years at around 175 bps, inclusive of the 70 bps guarantee fee. This month the five-year credit spread has fallen to 98 bps while the three-year spread appears to be around 60 bps. However, these credit spreads are exclusive of the basis swap, which could add as much as another 15 bps. This year the attraction of offshore issuance has been the volume of funds that can be raised rather than the price.Across the Tasman Sea, it has only been the New Zealand banks that have issued in international markets this year, and according to our records only two issues (both by ANZ National (International) Limited) have not carried a government guarantee. Issuance for the year to date amounts to the equivalent of NZ$9.6 billion, making it likely that the 2008 record of NZ$12.3 billion will be met and probably just exceeded.