Anything but euros worked for top-flight sovereign, supranational and agency issuers in the MTN market this week, as instability in both the banking and sovereign sectors rocked equity and CDS markets.

KfW marked the 10th anniversary of its euro benchmark programme this week with a rare increase of its January 2021 benchmark by Eu2bn to Eu6bn. Bankers described it as the most successful tap ever seen in the euro market.

KfW printed a spate of large trades in dollars and sterling this week. Although the borrower is offering low levels at the short end, volatility surrounding the foreign exchange swap allowed investors to buy the borrower’s paper at more attractive levels.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia last week became the first Australian bank to sell an MTN denominated in Swedish krona. However, the likelihood of Australian banks doing more deals in the currency will depend on the basis swap between Swedish krona and US dollars, bankers said.

Portugal insisted this week that it still had access to international capital markets, with the country’s top debt management executive claiming that it was business as usual for its MTN programme.

Dealers were hopeful that government guaranteed issuance could soon take off in the MTN market after HBOS launched the first CDs off such a programme this week. But the prospect of such supply also caused confusion, as although investors have been interested in such paper, dealers are unsure how to price the new asset class.

The world Bank is again targeting socially responsible investors with its latest retail offering, a Eu250m one year 3.85% fixed rate bond, marketed by Dekabank to customers at 16,000 Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe branches across Germany.

The Republic of Italy issued a Eu250m 55 year inflation-linked deal this week, the longest dated ever sold. Goldman Sachs is believed to have placed the groundbreaking transaction.

German speciality chemicals company Degussa has established a new Eu750m EuroCP programme through Deutsche Bank. Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) and JP Morgan join Deutsche as dealers on the programme.

UK-based mining company Anglo American this week told EuroWeek it is considering setting up a EuroCP programme in the coming weeks. However, according to James Patterson, treasurer of the firm in London, Anglo American is unlikely to issue ECP in the near future.

Kristine Falkgard Aged 33 Head of international funding, Kommunalbanken How long have you been in MTNs? I rejoined Kommunalbanken in August 1999, after having spent three years changing nappies in Brussels. Kommunalbanken signed its euro4 billion ($3.55 billion) MTN programme in January 2000 and I have been heading our international funding operation since then. I started in Kommunalbanken in 1995 when we were a major issuer in the domestic market. Almost all our funds are now raised through MTNs. What is your favourite part of the job? My job is incredibly varied which I like. We started from scratch one year ago and have yet to see a flattening learning curve. As a new issuer the challenges are many, but it has been a highly rewarding year and great fun. I have realized that even in the world of www this is still a people business. I really enjoy getting to know the many talented people around. Who is your favourite dealer of the month? Since we started in January 2000 we have executed trades with 17 different dealers and it is difficult to choose between them. We have nine dealers on our MTN panel and have a good and close relationship with most of them. That said, some dealers stand out from the crowd and we are greatly impressed. What has been the most interesting trade you've seen in the last few months? We executed a US dollar benchmark trade earlier this week after an extensive roadshow in Asia and Japan. It was interesting to start working on investor relations in that region and extremely satisfying to conclude our efforts with a successful deal. Another trade that has impressed us is the Region of Lazio securitization of health care transfers. As the first securitization by a European sub-sovereign entity it has been the focus of much discussion regarding developments of local government financing. What do you think will be the most important trend in the next quarter? It seems that some investors are placing huge emphasis on size and liquidity, apparent in the Telecom sector with huge funding requirements and ratings under pressure. Further turbulence in the stock markets could enforce the flight to quality, which should benefit smaller triple-A issuers like Kommunalbanken. We are also concerned with the state of the Japanese economy and how that might affect investor demand and MTN flows. What annoys you most about the market? Unpredictability - it moves. Which of your competitors do you admire most and why? I have respect for a number of our competitors. We work closely with the other three Nordic local government funding agencies in Sweden, Finland and Denmark where we exchange ideas and experiences both on funding and lending - and smilingly fight for the same deal. Closer to home, we compete with a very professional player which keeps us awake and focused. In general, I think there are lots of successful issuers that we monitor and learn from. At the end of the day we try to find our individuality and build a funding strategy that reflects our credit quality, our risk profile and our investor base. If you were not an MTN dealer, what would you do? I would sail around the world, experience beautiful sunsets and get terribly lonely - so I guess I am stuck. What car do you or would you like to drive? As a true Scandinavian with small children, I drive a boring Volvo. In another life I would place an order for the new Mini or the Beetle with the flower vase. What's your favourite restaurant? I can't be in London without a visit to one of the Wagamama branches. It reminds me of my student days in London. In Oslo I can highly recommend ORO restaurant and bar, run by the winner of Bocuse d'or 99, Terje Ness.