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BondWeek is the leading news publication for fixed-income professionals, covering new deals, structures, asset-backed securities, industry and market activity.

J.P. Morgan, for the second straight year, is the market's top loan trading desk, according to investors polled in Loan Market Week's annual survey. The bank ranked first in overall par desk and swept the board in distressed. Credit Suisse First Boston moved into second place after coming in third in 2002. Following CSFB was Citigroup, which climbed four spots from seventh place last year and stood out as the most improved par desk. For subscribers, results and analysis are contained in the enclosed supplement and are available on our Web site at http://www.loanmarketweek.com/lmw/lmwSecureArticleEntry.asp.

On the doorstep, . . .Loose Change has reported on bank robberies, which are mostly failures and often ludicrous, across the globe throughout the years. But last week, staffers did not have to look any farther than the retail J.P. Morgan Chase bank right next door. Alleged perpetrators hit the Union Square branch last week, though if reports can be believed, the news is not surprising. Fueled by so-called "note jobs," in which a lone man demands money from a teller without showing a weapon, the number of bank robberies in New York has risen steadily since January. As of May 4, there have been 199 bank robberies in New York so far this year, a 300% increase.

This chart, provided by Citibank/Salomon Smith Barney Inc., tracks bid-ask prices for par credit facilities that trade in the secondary market. It also tracks facility amounts, ratings, pricing and maturities.

Scotia Capital and The Royal Bank of Scotland launched syndication last Tuesday for a $400 million construction facility that transforms into a term loan for FPL Energy. The deal will back two gas-fired projects in Alabama and Pennsylvania, a banker explained. All of the credit is expected to be drawn through the end of construction, another banker added, noting that the projects should be finished in a year. At the end of construction, the revolving credit will turn into a three-and-a-half-year term loan and pricing will step up from LIBOR plus 13/4% as a revolver to LIBOR plus 2% as a term loan.

Wachovia Securities is scheduled to pitch a $250 million refinancing package for Global Imaging Systems this Wednesday. The credit includes a six-year, $150 million "B" loan priced at LIBOR plus 31/2% and a five-year, $100 million revolver with a spread of 23/4% over LIBOR. Proceeds from the deal will be used to refinance $27 million outstanding on the company's existing $150 million revolver and $68 million on its "B" term loan (see Credit in Focus, page 11). The existing "B" piece was originally for $75 million and is priced at LIBOR plus 31/4%. Proceeds will also be used to refinance $100 million of subordinated debt. Wachovia leads the existing credit, and other lenders include Scotia Capital, Key Bank, Antares Capital Corp. and Comerica Bank. Wachovia bankers did not return calls.

Increased trading activity of highly rated secondary collateralized debt obligation (CDO) paper is making placing mezzanine tranches much tougher. Indeed, two collateralized loan obligations (CLO) have been pulled in recent months after failing to sell the lower rated tranches, according to a CDO manager who is in the process of raising debt for a CLO deal. He attributed the difficulties to a recent glut of paper that is being sold in the secondary market, principally AAA tranches that are being sold at a discount. These can provide the yields of a mezzanine tranche, but are higher rated paper. Buyers include managers of CDOs of CDOs such as David L. Babson & Company, Zais Group and Coast Asset Management, which previously were major buyers of CLO mezzanine paper, the manager said. "Repackers" are less active on the new issue side as a result, contributing to "the worst market we've ever been involved in," the manager added.

Cleco Corp. has obtained $185 million in credit facilities, downsizing its existing bank lines and taking advantage of current market conditions to put in place $175 million of longer-term debt. "It reduces refinancing risk and ensures liquidity," said Kathleen Nolen, Cleco's treasurer, about the benefits of longer-term debt. At the Cleco Corp. level, the company now has a $105 million, 364-day revolver and $100 million in 7%, five-year senior bonds. In addition, the company's utility unit Cleco Power obtained an $80 million, 364-day revolver and $75 million in 53/8%, 10-year senior bonds.

Citigroup was scheduled to launch syndication last Thursday of a $200 million credit backing Cross Country Healthcare's $104 million cash acquisition of nurse staffing business Med-Staff. The credit for the healthcare-staffing company includes a six-year, $125 million "B" loan priced at LIBOR plus 31/2% and a five-year, $75 million revolver with a spread of 3% over LIBOR. A Citi official declined to comment on the deal. Emil Hensel, cfo of Cross Country, confirmed the structure for the underwritten deal and said Wachovia Securities was set to join as a co-lead as of late last week. He noted that Citi leads the existing credit, pointing to the selection of the bank to arrange the new facility. The existing deal is priced at LIBOR plus 15/8%. Cross Country expects existing lenders to join the new deal, Hensel noted.

Dresdner Bank sold roughly $600 million of its loan portfolio last Wednesday. Three dealers were invited to bid, but the winner of the auction could not be confirmed. The credits up for sale comprised five U.S. credits W.R. Grace & Co., NRG Energy, WKI Holding's World Kitchen, Mandalay Resort Group, and Wynn Resorts as well as a host of European names. The sale was said to be conducted via Dresdner's European desk rather than the bank's New York trading desk. Dresdner's total lending volume was EUR123.1 billion last year, but the amount allocated to corporate borrowers could not be determined.

Franklin Mutual Advisers is close to starting a closed-end mutual fund for individual investors that will invest in special situations, including distressed bank debt and bonds. The Franklin Mutual Recovery Fund will join a handful of other funds that invest in distressed securities open to retail investors, such as Martin Whitman's Third Avenue Value fund and Legg Mason's Opportunity Trust. "Franklin has been investing in distressed securities since the 1950's and we have a great deal of institutional knowledge relating to distressed investing," stated Michael Embler, v.p. in charge of the distressed investing effort. Embler will be co-portfolio manager with David Winters, who is the president and CIO of Franklin Mutual Advisers. One of the trustees for the fund will be distressed debt guru Edward Altman, the Max L. Heine Professor of Finance at New York University. Winters was traveling and could not be reached for comment.

Gerber Scientific recently closed on a $110 million refinancing credit that includes tranches led by two different lenders. The four-year deal has a $45 million asset-based, multi-currency revolver led by Fleet Capital Corp., while Ableco Finance--a fund affiliated with Cerberus Capital Management--leads the company's $65 million term loan facility. The deal refinances an unsecured revolver put in place in 1998 led by Wachovia Securities, said Shawn Harrington, executive v.p. and cfo of Gerber. Getting an unsecured deal is not as easy in today's market, he said, explaining the switch to an asset-based revolver structure. He noted that the term loan portion is secured as well, but he would not specify the collateral package. The previous five-year revolver was originally for $235 million, but was reduced to $80 million and was set to mature this coming August, Harrington added.