NAB leads the way

National Australia Bank would not say why it undertook a ₤500 million, five-year, bond issue last week. It could have been raising funds for its Clydesdale Bank subsidiary, which was recently do.. read more

Demand for NZ debt maintained

The New Zealand Debt Management Office continued adding to its new May 2021 line, with a further NZ$100 million of bonds sold. This time the average yield was at a new high of 6.21 per cent and the of.. read more

OTC derivative practices scrutinised

On Friday, APRA, ASIC and the RBA release the 'Survey of the OTC Derivatives Market in Australia' report. The report summarises the key findings of a survey conducted by the regulators over recent mon.. read more

UK sovereign rating not so sterling

S&P put financial markets in the northern hemisphere in a spin on Thursday night our time, when it changed the outlook on the 'AAA/A-1+' credit ratings assigned to the United Kingdom to negative f.. read more

More on monolines

Monoline insurer, Assured Guaranty Corp., continues to see its credit ratings coming under pressure. Last week Moody's moved again, placing its 'Aa2' insurance financial strength rating on the monolin.. read more

Moody's down on Queensland too

Moody's completed its review of the ratings assigned to the State of Queensland, initiated in late February, by lowering the long-term rating to 'Aa1' from 'Aaa'. The outlook is stable. The downgrade.. read more

Challenger sets up new warehouse

As for the Members Equity Bank securitisation finalised last week - the SMHL Securitisation Fund 2009-1 - the AOFM purchased the entire $500 million of the Class A2 tranche, priced at 135 basis points.. read more

Securitisation challenges

Members Equity Bank and Challenger Mortgage Management finalised mortgage-backed bond transactions last week that highlight the continuing difficulty of generating ongoing investor demand for this cla.. read more

IADB reenters kangaroo sector

The supranational sector kept domestic investors busy last week with European Investment Bank starting the week by opening a new line of May 2014 bonds with a $750 million issue, priced at 112 basis p.. read more