An Antipodean bank has issued its first covered bond out of New Zealand that has been snapped up by investors who are hungry for returns but with the security of capital preservation. The issuance comes as the region is becoming far warmer to covered bonds

ANZ issued a €500m covered bond yesterday, its first debt instrument of that type, backed by prime residential mortgages originating in New Zealand. The bond has a five year maturity, has been triple A rated by Moody's and Fitch and offers a yield of just over 3% to maturity. Bookrunners on the deal were ANZ, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas and UBS.