South Canterbury Finance has filled its NZ$100 million bond offering in just two days after its 8% interest rate proved particularly attractive for investors in the wake of the Reserve Bank's cut in the Official Cash Rate by 150 basis points to 5% on Thursday.

"The 8% rate looked great on Wednesday and looked even better at 9.05 am on Thursday," said South Canterbury Chief Financial Officer Graeme Brown.

South Canterbury had allowed for the offering to be open until January 30. The bond is due to mature on October 8, 2010, just before the official expiry of the Government's Deposit Guarantee Scheme, although it can be extended for up to a year if the scheme is extended.

Brown told interest.co.nz South Canterbury had received applications for NZ$117 million, but had decided to scale back the amount it accepted to the originally planned NZ$100 million limit, partly because it didn't want to take in too big a lump of funding.

"We don't want to create a watershed in 2010," Brown said.

* This article was first published on Friday in our daily subscription newsletter for the banking and finance industries. The email costs NZ$365 per annum and carries exclusive news and analysis for New Zealand banking and finance industry executives, regulators and investors. Sign up for a free trial here.