Basel III Will Affect the Returns You Can Receive from NZ Hybrid Debt Securities

International banking rules are strongly influenced by a set of guidelines laid down by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of senior central bankers from member countries. They meet in Basel, Switzerland's third largest city. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) prompted them to make some changes and Basel III was the result. It was published on 16 December 2010.

So what you say? The new guidelines change the definitions of what constitutes a bank's Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital. The effect of this is likely to make those securities more expensive for the banks and so they are more likely to redeem them earlier than before. That means that the principle as likely to be repaid earlier, the impact of this is to increase the likely yield to maturity of some of these securities.

There are potentially good buying opportunities for shrewed investors!

This opportunity wont last long as the market will soon catch on and reprice the securties accordingly.

Call us now on 07 578 3863 to discuss the likely implications for your portfolio and how you can profit from it.

The Bank for International Settlements web site defines Basel III as follows:

""Basel III" is a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. These measures aim to:

• improve the banking sector's ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress, whatever the source
• improve risk management and governance
• strengthen banks' transparency and disclosures.

The reforms target:

• bank-level, or microprudential, regulation, which will help raise the resilience of individual banking institutions to periods of stress.
• macroprudential, system wide risks that can build up across the banking sector as well as the procyclical amplification of these risks over time.

These two approaches to supervision are complementary as greater resilience at the individual bank level reduces the risk of system wide shocks."

The changes will affect the price and so the return from many of the hybrid debt securities issued by banks in New Zealand.

If you are in the market for fixed interest investments call us now on 07 578 3863 to discuss how you can take advantage of this opportunity.

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Basell III is likely to directly affect the following bank securities issued in New Zealand.

ANZ National Bank

• ANZ National Bank Limited perpetual callable subordinated bond 9.66%pa (ANBHA)
• ANZ National Bank Limited subordinated callable bond 15/6/2016 7.16%pa (ANB040)
• ANZ National Bank Limited subordinated callable bond 2/3/2016 7.60%pa (ANB050)
• ANZ National Bank Limited subordinated callable bond 23/7/2017 8.23%pa (ANB060)

ASB Bank

• ASB Bank Limited unsecured subordinated callable debt 15/11/2017 8.771%pa (ABB020)
• ASB Bank Limited unsecured subordinated callable debt 15/6/2016 7.03%pa (ABB010)
• ASB Capital Limited perpetual preference share 4.78%pa (ASBPA)
• ASB Capital No.2 Limited perpetual preference share 4.68%pa (ASBPB)

Bank of New Zealand

• Bank of New Zealand Limited unsecured subordinated callable bond 15/6/2017 8.42%pa (BNZ080)
• BNZ Income Securities 2 Limited perpetual non-cumulative share 9.10%pa (BNSPA)
• BNZ Income Securities Limited perpetual non-cumulative share 9.89%pa (BISHA)

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)

• CBA Capital Australia redeemable preference share 15/4/2015 4.19% (CBAFA)

Credit Agricole S.A.

• Credit Agricole S.A. perpetual deeply subordinated note 10.035%pa (CASHA)

Kiwi Bank

• Kiwi Capital securities Limited perpetual callable non-cumulative preference share 8.15%pa (KCSHA)

Rabo Bank

• Rabo Capital Securities Limited PIE capital securities 8.7876%pa (RCSHA)
• Rabobank Nederland NZ Branch perpetual non-cumulative capital securities 4.123%pa (RBOHA)