Midday Commentary: Fifth Third, AXIS Capital plan offerings; Bank of New York, RBS seen active

By Andrea Heisinger

New York, May 13 - New preferred stock offerings were announced Monday morning by AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. and Fifth Third Bancorp, continuing the flow of supply into the preferred stock market.

AXIS Capital is expected to price at least $150 million of series D noncumulative perpetual preferred shares, according to a 424B5 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a market source.

The preferreds will sell at par of $25.00.

A trader said at midday that talk was in the 5.75% area.

Meanwhile, Fifth Third announced an offering of fixed-to-floating rate perpetual noncumulative series H preferreds, according to a 424B3 filing with the SEC.

The $1,000-par hybrids had guidance in the 5.125% to 5.25% range at midday, a trader said.

In the secondary, Bank of New York Mellon Corp.'s $500 million of 4.5% $1,000-par fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds were seen trading at midday.

A trader pegged them at 100.25.

A series E preferred from the Royal Bank of Scotland was "unusually active," according to a trader, who pegged the issue "off 24 cents" at midday.

There were 216,000 preferred shares seen trading. The activity could be traced to an announcement from more than a week ago that the bank would once again start paying on one of its issues, the trader said.

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