Search results for

The challenges faced by the investment banking industry were highlighted this week by a round of third quarter results from some of its leading players. On Wednesday, Merrill Lynch's chief executive officer, David Komansky described market conditions as the most challenging in decades. The firm was not optimistic that they would improve.

Rating: A1/A- Amount: $700m (increased from $500m) subordinated debt

Co-ordinating arrangers Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Westpac Banking Corp have launched a $600m revolving credit for WMC Resources. Responses from underwriters are due on November 11, with general syndication to take place shortly thereafter.

Rating: Aa1/AA/AA+ Amount: £50m (fungible with £150m issue launched 09/08/02)

Credit card receivables were flying back and forth across the Atlantic this week as MBNA offered euro investors Eu500m of exposure to its US cards and Barclaycard brought a $1bn securitisation of UK receivables to US and European investors. This is only the second time that Barclays Bank has accessed the asset backed market to finance its credit cards. But both times it has issued $1bn of notes lead managed by Barclays Capital.

Confusion reigned this week as intense speculation that the UK's Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) would announce a securitisation programme proved unfounded. Several UK newspapers ran reports suggesting that the plan, known as Golden Arrow and proposed by Morgan Stanley and Babcock & Brown, would be announced at a rail finance summit on Tuesday.

Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley this week priced a Eu1.164bn securitisation of properties leased by Telecom Italia from Imser 60, a vehicle owned by Italian property company Beni Stabili. Long awaited since the start of the year, the deal was priced in line with market expectations, although the junior tranches fell at the wider end of price guidance. Two extra junior tranches were also carved out in the final stages of the deal's launch and wrapped by Ambac Assurance.

UK non-conforming mortgage lender Kensington Mortgage Co this week launched its largest securitisation, a £600m equivalent issue in dollars, sterling and euros. Residential Mortgage Securities 13 plc, the group's 15th securitisation, included an oversubscribed senior dollar piece sold to US money market funds under rule 2a7 of the Investment Company Act. Two further dollar denominated tranches were sold by sole bookrunner Bear Stearns.

Renault Crédit International (RCI) Banque, which finances vehicle sales for Renault and Nissan, this week defied the odds in a volatile market by launching a Eu1.4bn securitisation backed by French auto loans. The first time issuer has established a new vehicle to allow further issues backed by loans from other countries. Despite being launched amid extreme volatilty in the auto sector, Car Alliance Funding plc came at 17bp at the triple-A level with an average life of 3.06 years, inside the last two auto deals of the year in July, which were both backed by French and Spanish loans.

Joint bookrunners Barclays Capital and Fortis Bank this week launched ASR Bank's largest ever securitisation of Dutch residential mortgages. Delphinus 2002-2 offered investors Eu1.702bn of five year paper and capitalised on the programme's strong name to achieve competitive pricing in a shaky market.