Further colour on collateral matters for........>

RBA: Further colour on collateral matters for OMOs: "To assist with the smooth

functioning of Australian capital markets, the Reserve Bank has broadened the

range of corporate debt securities that are eligible as collateral for domestic

mkt ops to investment grade. The minimum criteria for unsubordinated debt

securities issued in AUD by corporations that are not authorised deposit-taking

institutions (hereafter referred to as corporate debt securities) is now an avg

credit rating of investment grade. This also applies to debt securities issued

by entities established under an Australian Gov't, state or territory law

without an explicit Australian Gov't guarantee. For long-term corporate debt

securities, the minimum criteria corresponds to an avg credit rating of BBB-.

For short-term corporate debt securities the minimum criteria corresponds to an

avg credit rating of A-3. Previously, the min requirements for repo eligibility

were an avg credit rating of AAA for long-term corporate securities and A-1 for

short-term corporate securities. The eligibility of corporate debt securities

for purchase by the RBA under a repo remains subject to an approval process, as

with all securities except Australian Gov't & semi gov't securities."