Two big four banks withdraw capital notes
Both Macquarie Bank and National Australia Bank (NAB) have made the decision to withdraw their offers of capital notes.
In an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Macquarie said that it had withdrawn its offer of $500 million of Macquarie Bank Capital Notes in light of ‘significantly changed market conditions’ since the offer was made on 11 February.
It said it would not affect the bank’s commitment to repay $429 million of Capital Notes on 24 March and $400 million of income securities on 15 April.
Refunds of application money would be paid without interest ‘as soon as practicable’.
This followed a decision by NAB to withdraw its NAB Capital Notes 4 offer today due to market conditions.
In a stock exchange announcement, NAB said: “NAB considers the withdrawal of the offer is in the best interest of relevant stakeholders, including the large number of retail investors who had expressed interest in participating in the offer.
“Other options, including potential repricing, were not considered appropriate in the absence of an orderly market.”
Both firms had seen their share price report double-digit falls since the start of the year to 12 March with Macquarie Group down 19% and NAB reporting a drop of 26%, according to FE Analytics.
The ASX 200 had fallen nearly 20% since the start of 2020 as global stock markets plunge from COVID-19.
Share price performance of Macquarie and NAB year to 12 March, 2020, versus the ASX 200
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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