Secondary market
A bond's credit spread is what it trades at over the swap curve — the market's live price for that issuer's credit risk. Business Borrowing tracks the secondary spread on New Zealand corporate bonds daily, by credit rating.
As at 2026-09-16, indicative secondary-market credit spreads on New Zealand corporate bonds range from about 42 to 154 basis points over the swap curve, by the issuer's credit rating and tenor — for example Auckland International Airport Limited (A-) near 54 bps. Grades are published agency ratings, not Business Borrowing estimates.
See also: Swap ratesRate historyBank base ratesForward BKBMIssue marginsBKBM
As at 2026-09-16 · updated each trading day
| Issuer | Maturity | Grade | Spread over swap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland International Airport Limited | Nov 2030 | A- | 54 bps |
| Chorus Limited | Dec 2030 | BBB | 74 bps |
| Infratil Limited | Mar 2031 | BBB+ | 111 bps |
| Infratil Limited | Dec 2031 | BBB+ | 154 bps |
| Infratil Limited | Jun 2032 | BBB+ | 110 bps |
| Mercury NZ Limited | Apr 2033 | BBB+ | 42 bps |
| Meridian Energy Limited | Mar 2032 | BBB+ | 79 bps |
| Property For Industry Limited | Oct 2032 | NR | 98 bps |
| Spark Finance Limited | Sep 2031 | A- | 71 bps |
| Wellington International Airport Limited | Sep 2030 | BBB | 101 bps |
A bond's credit spread is what it trades at over the swap curve — the market's live price for that issuer's credit risk, in basis points. Business Borrowing tracks the secondary spread on New Zealand corporate bonds daily, by credit rating.
Secondary spreads are the closest public read on what a given credit is worth in the market right now. For a borrower weighing a bank facility against a bond, or judging whether a quoted margin is fair, comparable secondary paper is the benchmark.
It depends on the rating, the tenor and the day — which is why the chart above plots it rather than quoting one number. Spreads widen steadily as the rating falls, and the gap between adjacent notches is usually a modest number of basis points, so the difference between a BBB and a BBB+ is real but small next to the difference between BBB and BB. Pick a rating band on the chart to see where that paper has traded.
Market data: Swap ratesRate historyBank base ratesForward BKBMBond spreadsIssue marginsBKBM
Indicative market data for benchmarking — not financial advice, a credit rating, or an offer of finance. See the Terms.
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