ANZ maintains leading position in KangaNews's intermediary league tables
With a third of the year over ANZ has so far maintained its recent record as the leading intermediary in the Australian and New Zealand bond markets. According to KangaNews's league tables, ANZ lead managed more deal volume in 2013 to the end of April than any other bank when issuance from domestic and international borrowers is taken into account.
ANZ results confirm growing premium paid for deposit funding
Half year results released by ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) on April 30 show an increasing gap between the bank's cost of deposit funding and wholesale margins, with the bank paying around 50 basis points more for deposits than for three-year wholesale debt by the end of March this year. Overall, ANZ's funding mix remained largely stable compared with six months previously.
Strong nonconforming RMBS market seeks issuance equilibrium
Market participants are divided over whether demand and supply dynamics in the Australian nonconforming residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market will continue to allow deal prints at the same frequency as they have emerged in recent weeks. Two new nonconforming deals have priced in April following the reopening of the market in March, and recent demand for the product has been robust.
NZGB inclusion in global index further away than reported
The entry of New Zealand government bonds (NZGBs) to the Citi World Government Bond Index (WGBI) – which analysts believe would significantly increase the market's profile with global investors – is a somewhat more distant prospect that recent reports suggest. A substantial quantity of NZGBs is held by official institutions in New Zealand, removing them from outstanding volumes for index purposes and thus keeping the market below the inclusion threshold.
Q1 deal volumes tell mixed sectoral story
KangaNews data show the first full quarter of 2013 producing differing issuance outcomes across sectors in Australia and New Zealand, as some hit record levels while others failed to match 2012 deal flow. In both markets, domestic bond issuance as a whole was down on the previous year's levels, with compensation coming in the form of Australia's relatively vibrant corporate and securitisation markets, and a Kauri renaissance in New Zealand.