Loan Ranger

It was another emotional few days for the loan market last week —at times Loan Ranger felt like a Samaritans’ helpline when talking to people from the leveraged market. But there is one glimmer of light in the form of an extra 50bp on the margin for Russian coalminer Suek’s new deal. Loan bankers have been insisting that pricing must go up for months but Loan Ranger gets the feeling that for some at least it’s a bittersweet victory.

Conference organisers always face a tough decision when drawing up the schedule for their event. They have to get around the fact that every single attendee will be feeling far too sleepy to pay any attention during the first session of the day and also in the one that follows the hearty (free) lunch.

For the last 18 months or so, Loan Ranger has been feeling pretty smug. While other ranch members have been panicking about closing markets, rocketing prices and redundancies, the loan market has continued along seemingly blissfully unaware of the volatility out in the wider world.

The loan market said farewell to another participant last week. Matthew Jolley finished up his job at Bank of China on Friday and today makes his debut at Barclays Corporate.

Loan Ranger received a rather, er... intriguing evening invitation from one leveraged finance banker this week. “Dinner could be okay however I need to know if your side will be offended by my love of contemporary dance (aka the Soho Ballet),” it read.

With the countdown to London’s Olympics next year well and truly under way, loan bankers in the city seem to be markedly split into two camps in their preparation for the games. One half is readying its face-paints and stocking up on memorabilia, while the other half is furiously googling to see how much they could rent their houses out for and just how far away they can get from the whole circus.

Loans traders have reacted with rather more calm than the rest of the markets to this summer’s uncertainty, with few signs of panic selling and price indices inching down rather than plummeting.

Loan Ranger is very proud to be able to report where Eric Zimny is headed for after leaving Commerzbank after 16 years... Da-dah! — Bali.

It’s been a black two weeks for financial markets, although you’d barely notice in the loan world, where Western European corporates are clamouring “Cheaper! Cheaper!” and lenders are signing deals like there’s no tomorrow (and of course there might not be).

Loan Ranger thought last week’s thunder, lightning and monsoon-style rain was an appropriate backdrop to the general market panic last week. Any good Eurozone crisis needs apocalyptic weather to help set the appropriate mood.

Everyone looked well-groomed for Société Générale’s summer do last Monday — it was held in the posh courtyard of the V&A Museum in South Kensington, after all. But there was something even more polished about Richard Hill’s appearance.

Loan Ranger has got its glad rags on and its party poppers at the ready in preparation for Société Générale’s summer reception at London's V&A this evening. The French bank always pulls out all the stoppers to entertain, but this time it really has outdone itself.