Loan Ranger

BNP Paribas, Citi, Crédit Agricole, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Wells Fargo and Yapi Kredi have been mandated by Hungary’s OTP Bank to arrange a new Eu200m two year loan. The new facility was launched into syndication on Thursday.

While the Euromoney annual syndicated loans conference is always a great event to catch up with other market participants, Loan Ranger couldn’t help but feel that the atmosphere at last week's event was a little gloomy.

Last Monday, a sluggish Loan Ranger caught up with that bundle of suppressed energy, Nigel Adamson from UniCredit.

Loan Ranger enjoyed the EuroWeek Loan Awards so much that we’ve decided to spread the ceremony out over several weeks. We caught up with Paul Corcoran from Nord Stream, to hand over its well deserved award for Best Project Finance loan last week.

In the world of online marketing, you need to have an edge to grab viewers’ attention. Several banks have been beautifying their own websites with pictures of the EuroWeek loans team, with our faces cropping up on the websites of UniCredit and Bank of Abu Dhabi among others. Now, we know that they may use the excuse that the pictures also show said banks receiving their awards at the EuroWeek loans dinner last month, but we suspect that they’re also hoping that the snaps of the radiant EuroWeek team will entice some clients in.

Loan Ranger is on a recruitment drive, having spent most of last week trying to convince the best and the brightest of the loan market to help Ireland’s new government deal with its fiscal crisis.

The ranch has been feeling a bit low and lonely following the EuroWeek loans awards dinner. From the glamour and excitement of the Guildhall, we fell back to earth with a bump on a very depressing Valentine’s Day. Not a single card, no roses — thorny or otherwise — and a distinct lack of chocolates left Loan Ranger feeling very down.

The EuroWeek Syndicated Loans and Leveraged Finance Awards Dinner was a fantastic success this year. Not only because of the fantastic food on offer, although it was delicious. Not just down to the well deserved prizes that were handed out. And not even because everyone attending London’s Guildhall on Wednesday night was such great company.

As the EuroWeek loan awards draw ever closer, the market is buzzing with gossip about who’s won what. Well don't worry, you don't have much longer to wait, as all will be revealed at London's Guildhall on Wednesday night.

It’s the last day of January and Loan Ranger is very relieved. We were working so hard this week (on Monday in particular) that we almost didn’t make it out to see anyone. Luckily, the BNP Paribas loans team came to our rescue with a wine tasting event in the Wine Library on Tuesday.

Loan Ranger was let loose on the prairie last week — the Viennese prairie — for the Euromoney CEE conference attended by ministers, central bankers and all the great and the good of the banking world.

The radio says January 17 is Blue Monday — officially the most depressing day of the year. So Loan Ranger is leaving the ranch and heading to Vienna for the Euromoney CEE conference.