Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Australia announced a bumper funding programme for 2020-21 on Thursday, almost double its previous effort. Two days earlier, the sovereign surprised the market with a long end deal that attracted a substantial amount of offshore interest.

Australia surprised the market on Tuesday with a bumper long end deal that attracted a substantial amount of offshore interest. The deal comes just as New Zealand sets a date for its for its next syndicated deal.

Australia has launched its second syndication of its 2020-21 fiscal year on Monday morning, Sydney time, extending its curve out to 2051 with a new benchmark.

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.

In a world first this week, 23-year-old student and Australian retail government bond investor Katta O’Donnell filed a legal challenge against the sovereign on Wednesday, claiming that the government does not do enough to disclose the risks of climate change to investors. If successful, the case could change issuers’ obligations regarding climate risk disclosure.

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

The Nordic Investment Bank dropped into a busy Kauri market that has so far seen NZ$1.3bn ($835.8m) of SSA deals this month.

The Nordic Investment Bank raised NZ$400m ($260.9m) with its return to the Kauri market on Tuesday, as it prepares to wind down its funding ahead of the summer break.

Kommunalbanken snagged NZ$500m ($324.5m) on Friday with the second largest Kauri bond of the year. Interest in the New Zealand dollar is high, with NZ$1.1bn worth of SSA Kauri deals printed so far this month — and more are set to follow.

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.