Loan Ranger

And so, in a flurry of tinsel and wrapping paper, Christmas is over. Not that many of those in investment grade syndicated loan land even noticed it had happened at all, given the number of people who were hard at work back at their desks on Boxing Day.

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and many creatures around the investment grade loan markets were still stirring as the rush was on to get deals completed before the end of the year. While shepherds watched their flocks by night... loan bankers have been stuck in the office.

In the words of the vicar at St Lawrence Jewry church on Gresham Street: “People have been known to exist without their Blackberry for more than an hour.”

A cold front has swept across the loan market over the last week. We’re not only talking about the icy reception that disgruntled bankers have given the Teliasonera seven year deal but also a swathe of snow that’s hit Europe, causing havoc as some of the market’s finest have been stranded.

Loan Ranger had another hectic week of winter receptions. After a slight panic when we realised that both Citi and SocGen were having their events on the same evening (surely bankers understand the journalistic imperative to take advantage of every free drinks party), Loan Ranger rallied and realised that we are more than capable of taking on two sets of high-flying financiers in one evening.

Emerging market bankers, pursued by Loan Ranger, headed to Vienna for the syndicated loans CEE conference last week.

Everybody’s favourite time of year is now upon us. No, not Christmas, it’s much more exciting than that: it’s the EuroWeek Loan awards. Nominations are now open and a few candidates have even been staking their claims early for some awards.

Us loans journalists are a simple lot: we call a spade a spade (and, occasionally, we call a dog deal a dog deal). So we were slightly confused on Thursday night when, at Barclays Capital’s loan syndicate cocktail reception, there was not a cocktail in sight. But, although we had to make do with simple champagne (sigh…), a fantastic night was had by all.

There have been some fairly depressing economic statistics released recently. On Monday morning, for example, it was revealed that some 8.9% of British graduates are unemployed six months after graduation.

It may not be the largest LBO to have found its way to our desks this year, but the EuroWeek loans team was excited by the arrival of the press release informing us of Silverfleet Capital’s buy-out of Germany’s Schneider Group.

You can almost hear the tumbleweed rolling across the investment grade market at the moment. While there is plenty of refinancing to be done (and there’s so much churn happening that we might end up with another EU butter mountain), nobody’s hopes are high that we’ll be able to cram in another huge BHP-style situation before Christmas.

Transferable skills are all the rage in the world of recruitment. Not only do headhunters want to see that you can do your own job effectively, they want to see that you’re a well rounded person who has a wide range of abilities.