Hunger for Aussie bank paper shows few signs of slowing

Sydney

THE appetite for Australian banks to fund in the local bond market shows little sign of abating, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia selling A$2.65 billion (S$2.8 billion) of notes less than two weeks into the new year.

The deal is the earliest benchmark-sized local transaction from one of the country's four largest banks since 2009 and follows a record year of such fundraising, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. CBA's new five-year notes were priced to yield 111 basis points more than swaps.