Loan Ranger

Summer is now upon us, and the party season... still hasn’t really kicked off, to the great disappointment of the ranch.

Since the ranch was left with no football team to support in the Euro 2008 championship, what with England’s stellar performance in the qualifiers, we’ve been taking advice from loan marketeers on which side we should back.

Loan Ranger was lucky enough this week to have been in Stockholm, where the temperatures were sky high and not a cloud could be spotted during the three days he was there.

Loan Ranger was planning to write another column full of witticisms about investing in Russia on the back of them winning the Eurovision Song Contest, but we were overtaken by events.

Down at the ranch, the loan posse is not averse to a day off (or a week off, for that matter). In fact, we jump at the chance to while away long summer days unconcerned by the leveraged loan overhang or the overcrowding of the Russian market.

At last! The first of the summer party invitations has popped up in our inboxes. "The first and only one, mind you," said Silver, "but in these cautiously optimistic times, we must count our blessings."

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and although bankers are, ahem, not so busy making hay this year, it can only mean one thing. Summer, and all the good things and cocktail parties that summer brings, is on its way.

"Dear diary — what a bitter sweet week of upside-downs it has been," wrote Loan Ranger in his Logbook of Loan Market Musings.

Loan Ranger is as progressive as the next person, but sometimes we at the ranch have to bury our head in our hands and wonder what the world is coming too. Reports that the market’s faith in Libor had vanished increased this week when it was suggested the Libor rate might be replaced by a new bank reference rate to price loans.

Loan Ranger is as progressive as the next person, but sometimes we at the ranch have to bury our heads in our hands and wonder what the world is coming to. Reports that the market’s faith in Libor had vanished increased this week when it was suggested the Libor rate might be replaced by a new bank reference rate to price loans.

The ranch always gets excited at the prospect of the London Marathon. It’s not that Loan Ranger, Tonto and Silver enjoy running in it — we prefer raising money for charity by asking Will Self to share his light-hearted views on the world with the loan market.

Loan Ranger has always felt a bit sorry for himself when he has had to work late on a Thursday night — this is often the day set aside for cocktails, which have to be forgone by the dedicated loans news junkies at the ranch.