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Rating: Aa1/AA+/AAA Amount: Eu1.25bn (increased from Eu1bn)

Rating: A (Fitch) Amount: Z65m

Guarantor: Abbey National plc Rating: Aa2/AA-/AA-

The mandated lead arrangers for the long awaited $500m 10 year commercial loan for Aluminium Bahrain BSC (Alba) phase II expansion project launched the deal into syndication this week. It should be well received by the syndicated loan market as it is a strong credit and the first from the Middle East in 2003. One banker told EuroWeek that due to the shortage of deals from good credits in the region international lenders as well as local banks are sure to lap this debt up. Project finance deals were the mainstays of the syndicated loan market in 2002 in the Middle East and this looks likely to continue this year as corporates and banks in the region have yet to rear their heads.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA Amount: Sfr200m

Rating: A1/A+/AA- Amount: Eu300m

Mandated arrangers Bank Austria Creditanstalt, BayernLB and Sumitomo launched syndication of the Eu150m five year facility for Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ) this week. The deal will pay a margin of 72.5bp over Libor in years one and two, and 75bp in years three and five. Co-arrangers have been invited for takes of Eu15m for a fee of 55bp.

Deutsche Asset Management (Asia) has launched a new Indian subsidiary and four new mutual funds in an effort to grab market share in the growing sector. Sandeep Dasgupta, who was hired two years ago to set up Deutsche Asset Management (India), is the head of the four strong fund manager team and nine salespeople.

Deutsche Bank is removing its investment grade loan portfolio from the corporate finance division in line with the bank's efforts to manage more efficiently its investment grade loan book. Deutsche has not decided which division will manage the portfolio. The most likely solution will be to place the book in a centralised unit but Deutsche Bank has made no comment on this.

France Télécom turned its fortunes around this week by securing the debt funding it needed to raise as part of its Eu15bn refinancing target for 2003. The company brought a dual currency jumbo bond that attracted over Eu14bn of orders, making it the biggest euro corporate since May 2002, and included the first benchmark euro corporate 30 year issue.

Rating: Aaa/AA Amount: Skr600m

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA Amount: Eu1bn Hypothekenpfandbrief