Primary market
The issue margin is what a borrower actually agreed to pay over swap on the day a bond priced — the primary-market counterpart to the secondary spreads that move every day. Business Borrowing tracks every NZ corporate, bank and government issue since 2015.
The most recent New Zealand corporate bond issue tracked by Business Borrowing priced on 2026-09-18: Metlifecare Limited (NR), a 6-year bond, at an indicative 1.88% margin over swap. Since 2015, tracked primary issue margins have spanned roughly 0.70–3.00% by rating and tenor.
See also: Swap ratesRate historyBank base ratesForward BKBMBond spreadsBKBMNZ corporate bonds
As at 2026-09-18 · updated as new bonds price
| Issuer | Priced | Tenor | Grade | Margin over swap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metlifecare Limited | 2026-09-18 | 6Y | NR | 1.88% |
| Oceania Healthcare Limited | 2026-06-19 | 6Y | NR | 1.78% |
| Ryman Healthcare Limited | 2026-06-12 | 6Y | NR | 1.88% |
| Infratil Limited | 2026-06-05 | 6Y | BBB- | 1.60% |
| Property for Industry Limited | 2026-04-02 | 6Y | NR | 1.30% |
| Mercury NZ Limited | 2026-03-20 | 7Y | BBB+ | 0.95% |
| Auckland International Airport Limited | 2025-10-01 | 5Y | A- | 0.84% |
| Meridian Energy Limited | 2025-09-01 | 6Y | BBB+ | 1.00% |
| Infratil Limited | 2025-06-06 | 7Y | NR | 2.30% |
| Chorus Limited (NS) | 2025-05-29 | 6Y | BB+ | 2.05% |
The issue margin is what a borrower actually agreed to pay over swap on the day a bond priced — the primary-market counterpart to the secondary spreads that move every day. Business Borrowing tracks every New Zealand corporate, bank and government issue since 2015: one observation per bond, with its tenor, rating and issuance size.
New-issue margins are the going rate for term debt at a given rating and tenor. For a corporate sizing up a bond or testing a bank quote, they are the most direct comparable there is — what peers have just paid.
Every deal is its own answer, and the chart above shows the lot since 2015. Three things move it more than anything else: the credit rating, the tenor — longer paper pays more — and the state of the market on the pricing day, which is why the same issuer can come back a year later at a visibly different margin.
Market data: Swap ratesRate historyBank base ratesForward BKBMBond spreadsIssue marginsBKBMNZ corporate bonds
Indicative market data for benchmarking — not financial advice, a credit rating, or an offer of finance. See the Terms.
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