Only half a week of bond issuance
Last week was a relatively quiet one for corporate bond issuance. With the Australia Day holiday on Tuesday and many taking the opportunity to have a four-day weekend, activity was clearly restricted. In the domestic market Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank added A$350 million to its just opened January 2013 line and Kommunalbanken also raised A$350 million for three years. Rentenbank's top-up takes the total outstandings to A$650 million and was raised five basis points tighter than the original issue, at a yield of 30 bps over bank bills. Kommunalbanken paid 43 bps over bank bills for its funds.Offshore, National Australia raised US$250 million in the US s144A market for two years at 25 bps over Libor, while ANZ added A$50 million to the A$100 million it raised for three years the week before in the Euromarket. BMW Australia Finance also raised A$30 million for two years and the Australian branch of Rabobank added another A$100 million to its January 2013 line, taking outstandings to A$350 million.Across the Tasman Sea, Westpac New Zealand raised US$350 million in the US domestic market for just one year at eight bps over one month Libor. CBA subsidiary, ASB Finance, raised ₤200 million for three years in the Euromarket.