The past year in the Australian bond market has been most notable for the signs of the improvement in investor sentiment extending along the risk spectrum towards lower rated corporate bonds and to parts of the fixed income market that have been, unfairly, at least in the case of Australia, tarred by the loss of global investor confidence.
Issuance in the 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  domestic market of lower-rated corporate bonds, which in the case of Australia means those rated BBB+ to BBB−, was the strongest on record, and, notably, at longer than usual maturities. The securitisations market, particularly for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), also recorded a significant increase in activity.