Bank of NZ internally securitises NZ$ RMBS-Fitch

SYDNEY, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Bank of New Zealand, a unit of
National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), has internally securitised
NZ$6.5 billion ($3.66 billion) of residential mortgage-backed
securities (RMBS), ratings agency Fitch said on Thursday.

The move by BNZ follows similar ones by the New Zealand
units of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) and
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) as they seek greater access to
liquidity amid economic uncertainty and high funding costs.

More than NZ$15 billion worth of mortgages have been
created and securitised in New Zealand since the Reserve Bank
of New Zealand said it would accept them as collateral in money
market operations to alleviate liquidity pressures.

Previously, New Zealand banks had not securitised
mortgages, preferring to keep them on their balance sheet. But
they are now scrambling to access liquidity amid the global
credit crunch.

Internal securitisation involves converting mortgages into
securities that become eligible for repurchase agreements with
the Reserve Bank.

More than A$140 billion ($90.26 billion) worth of RMBS have
been securitised internally by banks in Australia, where the
central bank also now accepts them as collateral.

BNZ's offer, called BNZ RMBS Trust Securities Series
2008-1, is for a total of NZ$6.5 billion and consists of two
tranches: NZ$6.3 billion class A notes, to be rated AAA by
Fitch and NZ$162.3 million class B unrated notes.
($1=1.775 New Zealand Dollar)
($1=1.551 Australian Dollar)