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Wachovia Securities is working on a $260 million bank deal for Virginia-based Hilb, Rogal, and Hamilton, according to market sources. The deal is reportedly structured to include a $140 million term loan "B" in conjunction with a pro rata piece slated for $120 million. One banker said the term loan is the first for the company. Calls to Carolyn Jones, cfo and treasurer, were not returned by press time. A company spokeswoman confirmed the bank deal but refereed all specific questions to Jones.

The market waited all week for the Deutsche Telekom deal that never came. On the heels of disappointing earnings and a Moody's outlook change, DT decided to put off pricing its jumbo global transaction after an extensive roadshow and several other delays along the way. In theory, the outlook change at pricing is better than the typical rating agency downgrade a week or two after a new deal, but is it too much to ask that the agencies act in advance of a major transaction? Apparently so. Just short of $12 billion in investment grade supply hit the market for the week. Of that, $3 billion was a short global from the European Investment Bank and $2 billion from JPMorgan Chase. The high yield market has also been very active with $2.1 billion in single B paper priced.

RBC Capital Markets has reportedly taken a hit on a credit default swap position on WorldCom and has let go its head of credit trading in New York, according to Derivatives Week, a Loan Market Week sister publication. Simon Howard-Glossop, head of credit, has left the firm, confirmed Paul Wilson, a spokesman in Toronto, declining further comment. A trader on the credit desk in New York declined all comment, as did Walter Gontarek, head of credit derivatives in London.

At least $25-30 million of XO Communications is believed to have traded in the high 40s last week, falling from the low 50s as the company's restructuring negotiations hit a snag. Financier Carl Icahn has pulled his offer for the company off the table, according to reports, but some market players suggested that he will come back to ensure the value of his bond investments. A $15-20 million piece of the name was sold by a bank in the 46-47 context last week.

Daiwa SMBC and UBS Warburg are managing the float of a new property trust on behalf of leasing company Orix Corp - one of two J-REIT deals that banks hope will attract retail investors looking for a return on their trillions of yen of savings. The deal is due to be priced next Friday and listed on June 12. The trust consists of 40 office properties, 98% of which are in Tokyo. The pricing range is ¥470,000-¥520,000, implying a yield of between 6% and 6.7%.

Citic Ka Wah Bank took its first decisive steps in the Asian capital market yesterday (Thursday), when it became the first Asian (ex-Japan) institution to offer a perpetual upper tier two bond. The $250m perpetual, callable after 10 years, proved to be a hit with a receptive investor community keen to gain an attractive yield at a time of narrowing spreads.

Clearstream International, Euroclear and The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation have announced the launch of their European Pre-Issuance Messaging Service (EPIMS). The announcement comes just two weeks after the Euro-CP Association and the International Primary Markets Association teamed up to focus their efforts on liberalizing the Euro-CP market. The new service will automate the allocation of ISIN codes of Euro-CP trades, and will compete with Dealogic's Issuelink, launched in November 2000.

Cho Hung Bank began premarketing this week for a GDR deal of around $500m. The roadshows will begin on June 3 with lead managers Credit Suisse First Boston, LG Securities, Samsung Securities and UBS Warburg. ABN Amro, Daewoo Securities and JP Morgan are co-leads for the deal. At the time of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) going public exchangeable bond last year, sceptics doubted the value of the equity option of the bonds.

Malayan Banking (Maybank) launched the roadshow this week for its keenly anticipated $300m 10 year non-call five subordinated bond. The lower tier two issue, which marks the institution's first international deal since 1995, follows Petroliam Nasional's triumphant $2.73bn multi-tranche transaction last week. The Malaysian bank chose Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to joint lead manage the issue several weeks ago. It announced plans for the roadshow shortly after Petronas had completed its own transaction, and visited investors in Singapore yesterday (Thursday). It moves to Hong Kong today (Friday), before traveling to Frankfurt on Monday and London on Tuesday, with pricing expected on Wednesday or Thursday.

Daiwa SMBC and Merrill Lynch yesterday (Thursday) won the mandate for the government's next selldown of Japan Tobacco stock. Japan's ministry of finance requested proposals in late April from would-be lead managers for the planned disposal of 333,334 shares in Japan Tobacco. The deal leaves Morgan Stanley without a role in any of the three major privatisation transactions this year.

Japan After a quiet period in the Samurai market, BMW and GE Capital Corp are priming new transactions for the coming weeks.

Lead managers Danareksa and Credit Suisse First Boston completed a scaled down 83.5m global placement share issue in Indosat late last Friday (May 17), New York time, raising $110m for the Indonesian government. As a result, the government has reduced its stake by 8.1% and now controls 56.9% of the integrated telecoms company, completing its first disbursement since Indosat went public in 1994. The next stage is for the government to sell a 36.9% stake to a strategic corporate investor later this year.