Year-to date-corporate bond issuance exceeds 2013 total

Life returned to domestic credit markets last week, in time to push year-to date-corporate bond issuance volume past the 2013 total. Year-to-date issuance at the end of October stands at A$81.2 billion compared with a 2013 total of A$79.5 billion.

Last week, sizeable issuance was seen from Bank of Queensland, AGL Energy and Toronto-Dominion Bank among others in the corporate bond market, while there were two mortgage-backed bond issues in the structured sector.

Bank of Queensland (rated A-) was the first to market with a two tranche, five-year issue, raising A$600 million. The bank sold $475 million of FRNs and $125 million of fixed rate notes, priced at 107 basis points over bank bills/swap.

Toronto-Dominion Bank made its market debut with a $1 billion covered bond issue. The five year FRNs were priced at 63 bps over bank bills.

Newcastle Permanent Building Society (rated BBB) returned to the market with its first issue in volume, since March 2006. NPBS sold A$200 million of two year FRNs at a spread of 85 bps over bank bills.

In March 2006, NPBS raised A$300 million for three years, at a margin of just 25 bps over. NPBS did not return to the market until earlier this year, when it sold two, one-year FRN issues of $50 million each.

The issues were undertaken in March and May and both were priced at 70 bps over bank bills.   

The World Bank (rated AAA) made the first tap of its June 2025 bonds issued in June this year. The bank doubled the size of the issue to A$600 million with the increase priced at 53 bps over CGS, to yield 3.8925 per cent per annum.

And Inter-American Development Bank (rated AAA) added A$100 million to its August 2024 line. The increase takes the total volume outstanding to A$850 million at was priced at 55.25 bps over CGS.

On Thursday night, immediately after announcing its full year results, there was talk offshore of NAB (rated AA-) bringing a benchmark sized subordinated debt issue.