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The mandate to arrange the Eu300m three year facility for First Active has been awarded to Barclays Capital, Danske Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and BayernLB. The deal will be launched into syndication next week. The transaction will carry a margin close to 19bp over Euribor. Proceeds will refinance a Eu400m three year facility secured in April 2000.

Rating: A2/A Amount: $250m

Corporate debt continued to take a back seat last week as geopolitical concerns and the protracted indecision about potential military action against Iraq kept investors firmly focused on the triple-A, sovereign or supranational sectors of the international bond markets. Issuance in the dollar markets was exceptionally brisk despite a US holiday on Monday and adverse weather conditions in New York and Washington which affected trading business on Tuesday.

The Republic of Italy will today (Friday) price its largest global dollar transaction since 1993, a two tranche $4bn issue comprising $2bn 10 and 30 year tranches offering investors rare sovereign/supranational/agency supply at the long end of the curve. Citigroup/SSB, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch are lead managing the issue.

Crédit Agricole Indosuez and IntesaBci have launched the Eu900m acquisition facility for Interpower into syndication. A consortium of Energia Italiana, Electrabel and Acea are buying the company. Arrangers must commit Eu40m for 65bp, co-arrangers Eu30m for 60bp and lead managers Eu15m for 50bp.

Dollar swap spreads compressed yet again this week as several sizeable, swap-driven issues hit the screens. By the end of the week, the 10 year swap was hovering around 40bp over the new 3.875% Treasury due February 2013, while the five year swap spread is at 38.25bp over the new 3% February 2008 Treasury sold last week. Despite the onslaught of debt in the dollar and euro markets this week, the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of war provides some underpinning to swap spreads.

According to Dealogic Loanware the volume of Euromarket transactions has dropped from $18bn last January to $14bn in the same month this year. Bankers say that the higher volume of loan issuance in January 2002 was due to a backlog of business delayed by the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001. Many borrowers opted to hold off from tapping the loan market in the wake of the attacks which meant there was an unusually buoyant start to 2002.

The Region of Lazio has set up a financial repackaged programme under the issuer name of Cartesio. The Eu2bn asset-backed MTN programme was arranged by SAN.IM, which is wholly owned and controlled by the Region of Lazio. The collateral backing the notes consists of receivables payable under lease contracts arising out of a sale and leaseback transaction of properties entered into by SAN.IM and certain healthcare entities based in the Region of Lazio. Standard and Poor's has assigned an A+ preliminary credit rating to the programme.

Ajinomoto Inc has completed the rollover of its ¥15bn 364 day credit arranged by Nikko Salomon Smith Barney. Lenders include NSSB committing ¥2bn, BNP Paribas, Bayerische Landesbank, Crédit Agricole Indosuez, Crédit Lyonnais, HSBC and Lloyds lending ¥1.95bn apiece and ING taking ¥1.3bn.

Guarantor: Japan Rating: Aa1/AA-

Amount: Sfr450m Maturity: March 25, 2010