Bendigo and Adelaide Bank prices A$400m 3-year floating rate note

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) has today priced a new Australian dollar $400 million floating medium term note ('the notes') issue. The notes priced at 145 basis points over the 3 month bank bill swap rate (BBSW).

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Group Treasurer, Peter Ormandy, said the transaction - which was the first public senior unsecured deal by BEN since early 2007 - had received tremendous support and was nearly three times oversubscribed.

"We received fantastic support from more than 60 investors who bid into the book," Mr Ormandy said.

"We had a wide range of both domestic and Asian institutions show their support, with more than 85 per cent of the offer going to nonbank investors."

The transaction received more than $1.1 billion of demand at the initial guidance of 150 basis points over BBSW. This strong oversubscription and the rarity of the name allowed the transaction to price 5 basis points inside this figure.

"We think the success of this transaction is testament to the sound and solid balance sheet of BEN - which is reflected in its strong financial performance and recent ratings upgrades from both S&P and Fitch," Mr Ormandy said.

"By reentering the senior unsecured market we are able to lengthen the tenor of our funding profile and replace some of the shorter-dated funding on our books. We are able to do this without materially changing the overall funding profile of the bank, which remains approximately 80 per cent funded by retail deposits.

"The success of this deal is testament to our low risk business strategy, and the strong demand for highly rated banks outside of the big four."

The notes are due to settle on 2 November 2012, and mature on 2 November 2015. ANZ, National Australia Bank and Nomura acted as Joint Lead Managers on the transaction.