Westpac

Firms turn to sterling and euros to take deals off the table and ease New Year funding pressure

‘Perfect combination of factors’ creates surprise window for last minute issuance

Further covered and senior paper to come out of Australia as RBA funding programme winds down

Aussie borrower set to end an almost two year absence from the market this week

The German bank has tapped dollars twice in two weeks

A pair of banks moved the bar downwards as they printed two of the tightest Australian dollar deals since the 2008 financial crisis: ING Australia found demand for dual tranche covered bond, while United Overseas Bank tapped the three year point of the curve.

ING is set to print the first Australian dollar covered bond of the year this week. Covered paper out of the region has remained scant over the last 12 months, but issuance is set to pick up as onshore lenders start to think about life after the end of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Term Funding Facility.

Westpac New Zealand attracted plenty of demand on its rare trip to the senior euro market this week, printing its €750m deal flat to fair value.

Three infrequent FIG borrowers are set to drop into a stable euro market this week, with Arion Bank, Banca Popolare di Sondrio and Westpac New Zealand all preparing senior deals .

National Australia Bank has mandated leads for the first Australian covered bond in euros for over two years. With redemptions outstripping supply this month, the NAB deal could be the beginning of a spurt of issuance.

Rabobank ended a two year absence from the Kiwi dollar market this week to raise short dated liquidity. Meanwhile, in the Australian market, credit issuance is picking up ahead of the end of the local financial year.

A pair of globally systematically important banks (G-SIBs) made rare visits to niche bond markets to raise senior debt at a group level this week, including a Canadian dollar market that is enjoying its busiest year for offshore financials since 2007.