Amidst all the hand-wringing over a potential sovereign downgrade, demand for Australian bank bonds continues apace.

And Australian banks are nothing if not quacking-duck feeders:

  • The Commonwealth Bank of Australia sold A$2.65 billion ($1.95 billion) of notes less than two weeks into the new year
  • (Westpac, ANZ, NAB & CBA sold a record A$43.7 billion of notes domestically in 2016 according to Bloomberg-compiled data)

more here at Bloomberg

Some of these bonds will be bought by Offshore interests ... a source of underlying demand for AUD it is.

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ps. The "potential sovereign downgrade" is well off the table for now, the latest from the agencies is reaffirming the AAA. eg:

  • Moody's says Australia's budget update in line with AAA ratings, stable outlook
  • Fitch: Australia budget outlook consistent with AAA ratings despite slight deterioration
  • S&P: Australia budget update has no immediate rating impact

Oh, and pps. The hand-wringing over the AAA never entirely goes away, it should next start to build into the May budget (or whenever those crappy doom and gloom newsletters need more suckers subscribers ... I know ... off to the naughty corner for me)