Westpac

Australia and New Zealand broke bond syndication records yet again this week, as Australia printed its largest ever deal while New Zealand scooped its largest ever order book with a seven year tap.

UBS raised A$2.75bn ($1.96bn) with a triple tranche senior unsecured deal through its Australian branch on Thursday, printing the largest ever Australian dollar bank deal for a foreign issuer.

The Australian Treasury has chosen the banks that will lead its new June 2051 syndicated offering, which is expected to take place next week.

While bankers in the Northern hemisphere plan well-deserved summer breaks, the Australian and New Zealand dollar markets are set to remain open for business, with some competitive pricing on offer.

Demand for Australia and New Zealand’s first syndications of their 2020-21 fiscal year was high on Tuesday, with both issuers printing their second largest ever deals.

Australia and New Zealand launched their first syndications of their 2020-21 fiscal years on Monday.

The New Zealand treasury has appointed the banks to lead the syndication of a May 2041 nominal bond, which is expected to take place next week.

New Zealand attracted record demand for its largest ever bond as it tapped the market with a four year syndication on Tuesday. With the government facing an elevated funding programme in 2020-21 to combat the effect of the coronavirus pandemic, there is a feeling that record-breaking deal sizes will become more common a spectacle.

New Zealand hit screens on Monday morning with a new syndicated bond, its third of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Two recent policy changes from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) spurred a pair of foreign banks to scoop A$3.2bn ($2.2bn) from the bond market this week. An expansion of repo-eligibility and a term funding facility for domestic banks have freed up the funds to drive the bumper deals, according to a banker at one of Australia's big four banks.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp sold its largest every Australian dollar deal on Tuesday, scooping up A$2.4bn ($1.6bn) of senior unsecured paper through its Sydney branch.

A pair of foreign banks mandated senior unsecured Australian dollar transactions on Monday: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is out with initial price thoughts through its Sydney branch, while the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is preparing a Kangaroo benchmark.