BNP Paribas launches A$ 5-year bond at 115bp-source

SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) - French bank BNP Paribas' Australia unit has launched a five-year, Australian dollar benchmark bond issue at around 115 basis points over swap and BBSW, a source who has seen the terms said on Thursday.

BNP Paribas, National Australia Bank and Westpac Institutional Bank are jointly leading the offer, which is expected to price later on Thursday.

The fixed- and floating-rate issue will mature on March 18, 2015 with settlement on March 18.

The bank is rated AA by S&P and Fitch and Aa2 by Moody's.

Separately, Credit Suisse and Spanish bank Banco Santander are also looking to sell bonds in Australia this week. Double click on.
(Reporting by Cecile Lefort; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)
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