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SYDNEY, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Suncorp-Metway Ltd (SUN.AX), an
Australian financial services group, privately placed A$400
million ($324.1 million) of triple A rated residential mortgage
backed securities at 130 basis points over BBSW, it said on
Wednesday.
The offer, called Apollo Series 2008-3 Trust, also included
A$44 million of unsold notes, rated AA- by S&P.
Suncorp, which also arranged the offer, said it placed the
securities in Australia but declined to disclose the number of
investors involved.
The securities are expected to be eligible for repurchase
agreements with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
This is the second public RMBS issue sold by Suncorp this
year and follows a A$2.6 billion internal securitisation
completed in May.
Internal securitisation consists of converting mortgages
into securities eligible for repurchase with the RBA.
The securities are not intened to be sold to investors and
are expected to remain on the balance sheet unless the bank
requires liquidity.
Issuance of RMBS in Australia slumped in the first half of
the year to A$1.9 billion, from A$47 billion a year earlier,
forcing a number of lenders to find new types of credit lines
by the way of private placements.
St. George Bank SGB.AX, the country's fifth biggest
lender, placed A$1.05 billion of RMBS last week with a single
unnamed institutional buyer.
($1=1.234 Australian Dollar)
(Reporting by Cecile Lefort)
