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Schroder Salomon Smith Barney is restructuring its continental European equity operations by appointing country heads for its major markets.

* Avon Energy Partners Holdings Rating: Baa2/BBB+

Toshiba Corp has issued a seven-year ¥700 million ($5.53 million) note off its $1.3 billion Euro-MTN programme. The note pays interest semi-annually and has a final coupon of 0.40%. The note will be issued on April 25 and has a seven-year maturity. This is the issuer's 13th trade of the year - all of which have come in yen.

EuroWeek hears that Scottish Power is moving to the market to raise a refinance facility. The deal is expected to be split into a US and a UK tranche with about £1bn syndicated on the UK side. The utility was last in the market in 1999 with a £600m 364 day revolver arranged by Royal Bank of Scotland. The loan paid a margin of 45bp and closed oversubscribed but not increased

Globals * Goldman Sachs Group

* Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd Rating: Aa3/AA-AA-

Auto companies Volkswagen and Volvo closed yen trades at the short end yesterday, April 4. Volkswagen's ¥5 billion ($39.87 million) nine-month trade pays a final coupon of 0.160% and the ¥20 billion one-year trade also pays a final coupon of 0.160%. Volvo also closed a one-year trade that pays a final coupon of 0.250%.

Belgium Arrangers KBC Bank (joint bookrunner, facility agent and documentation agent), Lloyds TSB (joint bookrunner), Sumitomo Bank (joint bookrunner) and Caja Madrid have signed banks into the Eu340m credit facility for Brussels International Airport Company (Biac). Proceeds will be used, in part, to finance the expansion of the airport.

Westland/Utrecht Hypotheekbank closed two trades yesterday: a ¥1 billion ($7.97 million) note to be issued on April 18 and a 12-year ¥300 million trade to be issued on April 25. The ¥1 billion note is a seven-year Bermudan callable reverse FRN. It pays 1% after one year and after two years it will pay a fixed rate, which increases annually, minus 6m yen libor. The ¥300 million trade is a callable fixed CMS-linked note. It is Bermudan callable - i.e. it is callable after six months and then at regular six-monthly intervals. The interest in the first year will be 2% and after that it will be according to the 20-year yen rate, minus the two-year yen rate +60bp. Peter van der Hulst, at Westland/Utrecht Hypotheekenbank's treasury, says: "We didn't choose these structures - the investor did. In Japan the interest rate is very low, so they have to make money on the yield." Mizuho lead-managed both trades.

Westpac Banking Corp has closed a HK$100 million ($12.82 million) FRN. The trade, which was managed by Goldman Sachs, pays interest of 3m Hibor+13. It is due to be issued on April 18 and has a maturity of five years. It is the issuer's 20th trade this year and its 10th in Hong Kong dollar off the $12.5 billion debt instrument programme, arranged by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in 1997.

Akbank, the second largest bank in Turkey, this week completed a $100m securitisation backed by its future revenues from processing credit card vouchers for VISA, MasterCard, American Express and other systems. Lead managed by Bank of America, the issue is the second Akbank has raised off these assets.

Barclays Capital lead managed its first public ABS deal for a US issuer in dollars this week, enhancing the firm's claim to be regarded as a contender in the American fixed income market. The transaction was a $300m global issue for Advanta Corp, parcelling the business card portfolio that is now the company's only credit card operation.