Agencies confirm Aussie guarantee triple-A â€" offshore deals expected [UPDATED]
Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) have both confirmed they will assign a triple-A rating to issuance covered by the Australian government guarantee, paving the way to an anticipated return to the international markets of one or more Australian bank issuers in the coming days.
Deals pulled in wake of euro fee hike for SSAs
Last week a number of intermediaries caused a firestorm in Europe when they tried to unilaterally increase fees for supranational, sovereign and agency (SSA) issuers, based on changing business conditions for lead managers and new fees being paid by government-guaranteed banks which have entered the triple-A space.
No S&P decision on guarantee treatment as launch approaches
The likely treatment of the Australian government’s guarantee on term debt by rating agencies remains unclear even as the November 28 introduction of the final version of the scheme looms. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) confirms it is yet to make its final decision on whether guaranteed bank debt will receive a triple-A rating despite speculation that it was ready to make the commitment.Hybrid market closed for 2008 but could widen next year
Intermediaries acknowledge that the window for hybrid deals in Australia has in all likelihood closed for the year with several potential deals not now expected to come to market, but hope remains that 2009 will offer opportunities for both on- and offshore issuers in the tier one (T1) space.