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As the broad sell-off continues in high-yield telecom, a West coast money manager has recently added to its holdings of Crown Castle International. A portfolio manager at the firm argues that the $900 million in cash that the communications tower company has on its balance sheet gives it a more than sufficient cushion to support its capital expenditures and still weather the industry downturn.

Rabobank has hired Steve Swallow as director of credit for its structured investment vehicle. He joins from Barclays Capital where he was an associate director covering European commercial mortgage-backed securitizations and whole business deals. Swallow, who left Barclays earlier this month, joins a former Abbey National colleague, Alistair Lumsden, according to people familiar with the move. Rabobank is seeking an additional portfolio manager for the SIV, which will bring the team to six. Lumsden and William Lloyd, managing director and global head of securitization research at Barclays, declined to comment. Barclays has six securitization analysts based in London. Swallow could not be reached.

The three major ratings agencies are taking steps to address the roles of corporate governance and accounting practices in the credit rating process. The action is a direct consequence of the recent spate of corporate blow-ups. "Some people have suggested that corporate governance is beyond the legitimate part of credit analysis, but poor corporate governance and aggressive accounting often go hand-in-hand," says Christopher Mahoney, senior managing director at Moody's Investors Service in New York.

David Petrucco has joined The Royal Bank of Scotland to head up its new U.S. leveraged loan syndication effort, a joint venture between the bank's leveraged finance and loan syndication groups. The effort being developed in the U.S. leverages off the success of RBS' European operations, which Petrucco said currently tops the leveraged lending league tables. "I am very excited about the opportunities that the future holds for RBS, particularly at a time in the U.S. markets when bank capital has become a rare commodity, especially for middle market companies," he added.

Cable companies felt pressure from the secondary bank loan market last week as both Adelphia Communications and Charter Communications saw their bank debt levels shutter and loose three to five points each. Adelphia bank debt fell as five of the company's former executives were arrested by U.S. postal inspectors for conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Dealers quoted Adelphia's Century Communications credit in the 68-71 range. Charter Communications also was said to have traded down from the low 90s to the 86-88 context.

Charter Communications saw its 8.625% notes of '09 slide 10 points to a 54 bid. One trader blamed a drop in the company's equity price following a recent downgrade by Jessica Reif Cohen, an equity analyst at Merrill Lynch. In her report, Cohen cited accounting-related concerns. Adelpia Communications' 10.875% notes of '10 dropped seven points to 30.

Roughly $50 million of Conseco bank debt traded last week with levels ticking up from the mid-60s to the low 70s before sinking back to the 67-68 level by week's end. Traders said the name had been moving off of technical pressures related to the volume of paper changing hands as well as stock market volatility. Two weeks ago, Conseco bank debt levels fell as investors feared that the company would not be able to complete its long-term restructuring plan without filing for bankruptcy. This notion was ignited by a downgrade from insurance-rating agency, A.M. Best. Some market players are concerned that Conseco will lose business as a result of the downgrade, which will become a further obstacle to recovery. Calls to the company were not returned by press time.

Crown Cork & Seal saw its 6.75% notes of December '03 drop seven points to 78 on news of the postponement of its planned initial public offering of its Constar subsidiary. Constar also has a high-yield deal on the calendar, but it is also believed to on hold. Officials at Salomon Smith Barney, the underwriter, could not be reached by press time.

Credit Suisse First Boston has lost one of its European banks analysts to Goldman Sachs, according to industry officials familiar with the move. Louise Pitt, who will continue to cover the banking sector at Goldman, left CSFB earlier in the month and her duties have been assumed by Leslie Mapondera for the time being. At Goldman, Pitt replaces Chuck Mounts, who left the firm in February to join UBS Warburg as co-head of European credit research. A spokeswoman at Goldman in London could not confirm the hire and senior research officials were on holiday and could not be reached for comment. Calls to Said Saffari, head of European credit research for CSFB in London, were not returned.

The roughly $20 billion pension fund of BellSouth has hired Credit Suisse Asset Management to run its second investment in distressed debt. Alan Gasiorek, executive director of trust investments, said the fund chose CSAM because of its investment philosophy. "We like that they go for control," he said. "They're long-term players that look to create value." Although BellSouth committed to make the investment some nine months ago, the fund only recently hired a manager because it experienced several hiccups in the process, which Gasiorek declined to discuss.

Bankrupt Williams Communications Group's bank debt jumped from the 72-74 range to the mid- to high 80s last week after Level 3 Communications was reported to be making a $1.1 billion bid for the company. This offer would take the Williams Communications bank debt out at par. Dealers said investors are still unsure if the deal would be completed. No trades could be confirmed. A spokeswoman for Williams Communications said the company had received a number of bids, one of which was from Level 3. While she could not elaborate, she noted that the company was looking to release a plan of reorganization soon.