Please note that as of August 2012, The Bank Investor site is no longer being updated. Australia and New Zealand's best analysis of the banking and finance industry can be found at Banking Day.

Articles by Philip Bayley

Philip Bayley analyses debt capital market issues for The Bank Investor and its sister publication, Banking Day.

Bank hybrid ripoff exposed

The enthusiasm of local and overwhelmingly retail investors for bank hybrid capital securities that count as tier-one capital and are compliant with Basel III may be well and truly be misplaced, if the reaction of international investors to Macquarie Bank's exchangeable capital securities is ... More
Published on Monday, 26 March, 2012 Filed under Macquarie Group, hybrids

Moody's downgrades Macquarie Group's credit rating

The credit rating on the short-term debt of Macquarie Group - though not of Macquarie Bank - has taken a tumble on Moody's Investors Service's rating scale. Moody's also cut the long-term debt rating of Macquarie, both for the group and the main banking subsidiary, on Friday. The credit ratings ... More
Published on Monday, 19 March, 2012 Filed under Macquarie Group

No rush for bank hybrids by retail investors

Hybrid fixed-interest securities marketed by three banks and one industrial company over the last week or two have failed to generate the scale of investor demand sometimes associated with such issues, at least in the case of those promoted by the banks. Last week, ANZ and Westpac, and then ... More
Published on Monday, 27 February, 2012 Filed under ANZ, Westpac, CBA, funding

ANZ, Westpac and Colonial launch hybrid issues into the retail market

The market is crowded with hybrid bank issues, following Westpac's launch last week of an issue of convertible preference shares. ANZ and Colonial launched subordinated note issues earlier in the week. Westpac is seeking a minimum of A$750 million. The preference shares should be priced at the ... More
Published on Monday, 20 February, 2012 Filed under ANZ, CBA, WBC, funding

Covered bond pricing and the funding dilemma

After a long build-up, two major Australian banks sold their first covered bond issues last week. Both ANZ, which entered the market on Tuesday night, and Westpac, which followed on Thursday night, chose the US bond market to make their debuts. CBA and National Australia Bank, which have also ... More
Published on Monday, 21 November, 2011 Filed under ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac

Retail bond opportunities: ANZ and Waratah

Retail investors get very few opportunities to invest in bonds. Bond investment is largely restricted to institutional investors in Australia, who can choose among more than 1,100 individual issues currently outstanding. Retail investors, on the other hand, are relegated to selecting from the 70, ... More
Published on Thursday, 8 September, 2011 Filed under ANZ, funding, bond issues

Fast-growing NAB pays capital penalty

With National Australia Bank’s release of its third quarter “pillar 3” disclosure on Wednesday, it is possible to undertake a comparative analysis across the Big Four banks and Macquarie Bank. Such an analysis reveals some interesting changes over the last 12 months across the banks’ lending ... More
Published on Saturday, 27 August, 2011 Filed under NAB, Pillar 3, results

For the banks, this crisis may be different

Financial markets may be superficially exhibiting a degree of stress reminiscent of the later months of 2008, but in reality the credit markets are not functioning badly and Australia’s large banks have succeeded in selling their debt – in reasonable volumes – into offshore markets. Westpac, with ... More
Published on Wednesday, 10 August, 2011 Filed under outlook, funding