SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters) - Westpac New Zealand Ltd, the
country's second-largest lender, has raised NZ$350 million
($222 million) in 5-year bonds backed by a New Zealand
government guarantee, it said on Tuesday.
It is Westpac's first issue covered by the government
guarantee which was put in place last year to help banks
weather the global financial crisis.
Westpac New Zealand is a unit of Australia's Westpac
Banking Corp (WBC.AX).
Deal details are as follows:
Issuer: Westpac New Zealand Ltd
Facility: Fixed rate government-backed bond
Guarantor: New Zealand
Amount issued: NZ$350 million
Maturity: 22 July 2014
Set date: 22 July
Coupon: 5.735%
Spread: +60 basis points over swap
or +59 bps over NZGB
Issue price 100
Lead(s): Westpac
Issue ratings: AAA (S&P), Aaa (Moody's)
($1=1.578 New Zealand Dollar)
(Reporting by Cecile Lefort)
