New Zealand's buy side speaks out
In May, BNZ and KangaNews carried out an unprecedented survey of New Zealand’s institutional fixed-income investors as the first step in a bank project to identify and progress challenges and opportunities facing the local market. Having digested the results of the survey, BNZ also hosted a panel of investors to discuss its results in more detail.
Back on track in the New Zealand high-grade market
At the start of June, KangaNews and Westpac brought together New Zealand’s biggest government-sector issuers in Wellington to discuss the path of their market from the depths of the crisis back to functionality, the new challenges of 2021 and the outlook for a raft of factors – including sustainable-finance evolution, inflation-linked issuance and the long-dated market.
Read more: Back on track in the New Zealand high-grade market
Firstmac sprouts first all-green RMBS in Australia
Firstmac’s entrance into green residential mortgage-backed securities issuance is a first for the Australian market as the whole deal – not just selected tranches – is in certified green format. The issuer and the deal’s two investors – Norinchukin and Clean Energy Finance Corporation – say it could seed a promising future for environmentally backed securitisation in Australia.
Shifting sands change dynamics for Australia's government-sector issuers
KangaNews and Westpac Institutional Bank hosted their annual roundtable for Australia’s sovereign and semi-government issuers in June – via audioconference, as the discussion happened as many Australian states were re-entering lockdown following the latest outbreak of COVID-19. Despite the sting in the pandemic’s tail, issuers are confident about the resilience and functionality of their market as they enter new financial years.
Read more: Shifting sands change dynamics for Australia's government-sector issuers
Curtain falls on LSAP but market set to play on
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Monetary Policy Committee decided on 14 July to halt its large-scale asset purchase programme before the end of the month due to the trajectory of New Zealand’s recovery from COVID-19. New Zealand is ahead of the developed world in its tightening cycle but analysts believe the market and economy is ready for this withdrawal of stimulus.