Westpac is hoping for fine pricing on its planned sale of at least $A500 million in hybrid securities.The "capital notes securities" will be non-cumulative, convertible, transferable, redeemable, subordinated and perpetual, Westpac said. The notes will rank in priority alongside most other hybrids securities sold by Westpac in recent years, but will be subordinated to a perpetual floating-rate note issue dating from the 1980s.Standard & Poor's said it assessed the capital notes "as having 'intermediate' equity content, under our ratings criteria."Like most other recent bank hybrids, the Westpac capital notes are being marketed primarily to retail investors, though bidding by institutions will set the margin.The pricing range mooted yesterday by Westpac was a margin in the range of 320 to 340 basis points over the 90-day bank bill rate.This may be ambitious. The recently issued PERLS VI, from CBA, is currently trading at a spread of 295 bps over bank bills. The ANZ's CPS3 is trading at a spread of 320 bps and Westpac's convertible preference shares are trading at a spread of 314 bps. This new issue will have an optional redemption/transfer date of March 2019, which is 18 months later than ANZ's CPS3. Thus, on the basis of relative value and a longer period to go to optional redemption, and allowing investors a new issue premium (given that a rotation of investments into equities is underway) the spread of 340 bps may be barely enough.