Brazil * Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Brasil SA

India The ¥14.24bn 5-1/2 year term loan for Reliance Industries has been closed by co-ordinating arrangers ANZ Investment Bank, Bank of America and Crédit Lyonnais. The co-ordinating arrangers committed ¥1.435bn apiece.

The £475m debt facility backing the £750m buy-out of Homebase DIY from Sainsbury, sponsored by Schroder Ventures and syndicated in November 2001, has been recapitalisation. At a bank meeting yesterday (Thursday) in London, members of the original syndicate were offered a 50bp fee for sticking to the deal and supporting the recapitalisation.

Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) this week signed up a group of banks to arrange a $300m prepayment facility, the first loan from the Republic of Congo. It is also the first African corporate loan to hit the market in 2002 outside South Africa. Mandated joint arrangers of the deal are KBC, RMB (SA) and Standard Chartered Bank. The facility is also fully underwritten by the three arrangers.

* Fortis Finance NV Guarantor: Fortis (NL) NV, Fortis Bank NV

* Dexia Funding Netherlands Guarantor: Dexia Banque SA