Search results for

In Riga today (Friday) mandated arrangers ING and Standard Bank will sign 15 banks into the Eu40m five year facility for Parex Bank. The deal has received an oversubscription and will be increased to Eu55m.

Landeskreditbank Baden-Wurttemberg has tripled the size of its debt issuance programme from euro5 billion ($4.69 billion) to euro15 billion. It has issued just two notes so far this year, but has over $2.5 billion outstanding.

There has been a bit of movement in the market recently. Bill Blain, an MTN trader at Bear Stearns, recently parted ways with the bank. His future career has yet to be disclosed. Bill will be remembered by many as a colourful character. His most glorious moment apparently came several years ago at an issuer rally-driving party, when he jumped in at the wheel of a racing car, only to blow the engine 100 metres down the track. The market could do with a few more characters willing to blow a gasket, and there may be several at SNS bank's car-racing day in Amsterdam this weekend. World Bank's Gumersindo Oliveros has left the funding desk. Leak suspects he was worried about not receiving a big enough pension when he retires, because he has gone to run the World Bank's pension scheme. And BNP Paribas has announced a new face on its credit derivatives team. No doubt the new trader (Manish Chandra who was one of the five bankers who left Barclays after spending £44,000 at a swanky London restaurant in February) will be a popular companion for lunch, especially if he is paying.

Links Finance Corporation has slim-lined the dealer panel off its $5 billion Euro-MTN programme. It has dropped ABN Amro, Bear Stearns and BNP Paribas. Goldman Sachs is the only bank to be added to the panel at this update.

Amount: Eu3bn Legal maturity: July 29, 2010

Lonza, the Swiss specialty chemicials firm, launched on Monday a Sfr300m convertible to finance the repurchase of 4% of its share capital. Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs lead managed the offering which, combined with the share repurchase, will increase Lonza's leverage.

The $435m offshore facility for Maxis Mobile, Maxis Holdings and Maxis Communications has been launched to general syndication after completion of the sub-underwriting stage. Another six banks joined the arrangers during sub-underwriting. The $435m facility is divided between a $200m five year term loan for Maxis Mobile and a $235m 4-1/2 year term loan for Maxis Holdings. The shares of Maxis Mobile secure the facility.

Malaysia is putting the finishing touches on what will be the first ever international dollar bond issue that is open for purchase by Islamic investors. HSBC is lead managing the $350m-$500m offering, which will probably have a five year bullet structure. The roadshow begins today (Friday) with a lunch presentation in Hong Kong, and will proceed to the Middle East next week (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Jeddah) before ending in London. Launch is expected in the week after.

Compiled by Richard Favis, RBC Capital Markets, Johannesburg Tel: +27 11 784 5065

DePfa, the German banking group, is to cease originating residential mortgages on its own balance sheet. Instead, it will originate loans for EuropeLoan Bank, the internet mortgage bank set up by structured finance boutique Fredell&Co.

DePfa, the German banking group, is to cease originating residential mortgages on its own balance sheet. Instead, it will originate loans for EuropeLoan Bank, the internet mortgage bank set up by structured finance boutique Fredell&Co.

We have received several calls from nice people at Merrill Lynch, who thanked us for our support in saying something constructive about the firm and encouraging everyone to puff as hard as they could to keep the Merrill share price up. As we commented a fortnight ago, $45 is the minimum acceptable level for beleaguered ML employees, while any move towards $40 sends the staff rushing to the nearest wailing wall. But we puffers weren't very successful. Last week, admittedly in miserable market conditions, Merrill stock plunged through $40 and on an intra-day basis traded as low as $38.60. The resignation of Tyco's chairman and CEO didn't help and then a possible investigation of Knight Trading Group by the SEC and Nasdaq sent a cold shiver down the whole of Wall Street. When the Knight Trading story broke, you could almost hear echoes up and down Wall Street saying: "There but for the grace of God etc."