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Merrill Lynch has arranged a Eu5bn global MTN programme for Assurance Funding, a Jersey-based corporate guaranteed by MBIA Assurance. The EuroMTN dealer panel is Barclays Capital, Bear Stearns, Citigroup/SSSB, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Merrill Lynch, Rabobank International and Royal Bank of Scotland. The US dealer panel includes all the European names except Barclays Capital and Rabobank International. Mizuho has self-arranged a ¥500m subordinated EuroMTN programme through its Mizuho Holdings (Cayman) branch. Mizuho is joined on the dealer panel by Merrill Lynch. JP Morgan is the IPA. The programme has a triple-B rating from Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch.

Belgium Belgian bank KBC sold a Eu124m stake of its own shares yesterday (Thursday) via Deutsche Bank and KBC Securities.

Hungary Hungary plans to bring at least two new issues of Eu1bn in 2003, according to Andras Laszlo Borbely, managing director of Hungary's debt management agency. These are likely to take place in the first and third quarters.

ABN Amro has hired Mikael Mellegard, formerly of Morgan Stanley, to head its Treasury and agency trading outside the US. At the same time, Keith Jenkins joins as a yen product sales trader for the European time zone. Jenkins joins from Barclays Capital and has spent 18 years, putting in stints at Nomura and Morgan Stanley as well. "We have hired Miki because we felt that we were getting some form of critical mass both in the US and in Europe and Asia," Kim Rosenkilde, global head of government bonds, told EuroWeek. "As well as having done a lot of deals recently for Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, ABN Amro is the fifth largest bank provider of mortgages in the US, so there is a good fit."

HSBC (bookrunner), Mizuho (facility), Natexis Banques Populaires (signing and publicity agent) and Standard Bank London (documentation) signed banks into the $100m three year term loan for ABC International Bank plc (ABC IB) yesterday (Thursday). Co-arrangers are Commercial International Bank (Egypt), Erste Bank, International Commercial Bank of China, Persia International Bank and RZB.

Rating: BBB/BBB+ Amount: Eu400m

Arranger Commonwealth Bank of Australia has closed the A$200m three year term loan for Envestra after inviting just a small group of relationship banks. The arranger pledged A$65m. Participants are ANZ Investment Bank, BNP Paribas and HSBC lending A$35m each, and TD Securities committing A$30m.

Amount: Eu1bn Legal maturity: December 21, 2011

Rating: A1/A+/BBB+ Amount: Eu55m (fungible with two issues totaling Eu300m first launched 08/11/02)

Guarantor: Islamic Republic of Iran Rating: B+ (Fitch)

iShares, Barclays Global Investors' exchange traded funds (ETF) brand, will early next year launch the first European fixed income ETF, based on the iBoxx family of indices. Several banks over the past year have launched products linked to corporate bonds, offering notes linked to either a basket of credits or an index, including an iBoxx-linked product from ABN Amro.