Australia’s big four banks have raised $9 billion in the first 10 days of the year, taking advantage of the most favourable conditions in capital markets since the financial crisis.
The frantic pace of issuance exceeds the $5.25 billion raised by the major banks in January 2017 as they lock in lower funding costs and further reduce the need to compete aggressively for deposit funding.
On Tuesday, ANZ Banking Group issued $3 billion of three-year and five-year debt in the Australian market, paying a rate of 3.13 per cent for the five-year tranche. The margin ANZ paid for the five-year of 77 basis points over the bank rate is a 30 per cent decline from the 111 basis points paid by the Commonwealth Bank when it sold five-year bon…
Read the full article at: http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/australian-banks-blitz-debt-markets-for-9-billion-as-funding-costs-fall-20180110-h0gb7c
