Oceania

Handelsbanken is set to return to the Australian dollar market for the first time in nearly two years this week, as Aussie dollar senior paper rallies thanks to the long term absence of funding from the market's major domestic banks.

Global financial institutions will focus more on their home markets amid a sharp fall in funding requirements this year, leaving sterling credit investors yearning for more supply from overseas FIG issuers.

The Asian Development Bank has sold its first ever education bond. The proceeds will go towards financing technical and vocational training for educators in the Asia Pacific region.

JP Morgan has named Simone Haslinger and Jonas Troeber as the co-heads of its equity capital markets business in Australia and New Zealand.

Bank bond spreads widened on the back of negative sentiment this week, but a handful of lenders were still able to take advantage of a constructive backdrop in the new issue market.

Westpac kicked off 2021’s Australian financials market on Thursday by launching a new tier two bond. Aussie borrowers are expected to focus on capital trades this year in order to meet their total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) requirements with tier two debt.

Macquarie achieved a decade low print for a five year Australian dollar floater this week, as the lack of supply from financial issuers in 2020 has sent spreads grinding downwards.

Deal arrangers expect that next week will be the last real window for issuance in 2020, with investors set to close down activity from the middle of December.

The outlook for Asian covered bond supply will have improved slightly in the wake of Tuesday’s deal from United Overseas Bank, particularly among Singaporean lenders. But issuance from Australia and New Zealand is expected to be more limited, reflecting their banks' priority to get ahead with regulatory funding.

Investors were delighted to add more exposure to Macquarie Group on Wednesday, after the Australian issuer returned to euros for its second senior deal of the year.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has announced plans to explore the potential uses and implications of a central bank digital currency using distributed ledger technology. The RBA follows the Banque de France, which last year worked with Société Générale to settle a crypto covered bond — a product that offers a number of ways to deploy blockchain technology.

ING has appointed Uday Sareen as head of wholesale banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.