Westpac to raise $750m in notes offering

The news: Westpac will raise $750 million through an Additional Tier 1 capital instrument.

The numbers: The notes will be issued at $100 each and are expected to pay 3.1%-3.3 per annum in interest. Investors have already lodged $2.35 billion in bids at the lower end of the margin range, Reuters reports.

The context: AT1 instruments are designed to improve banks' financial resilience and absorb losses in periods of stress. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said in September it would consider the rules surrounding AT1 instruments in response to the collapse of Credit Suisse in March. The former banking and financial services giant's failure led to a write-down of 18 billion Swiss francs ($31.1 billion) worth of Credit Suisse AT1s, with bondholders getting nothing in a subsequent deal with Switzerland's financial regulator, according to Reuters.