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Volvofinans, the market company owned by Ford Credit International and the Swedish Volvo dealers, has signed a euro500 million ($440.4 million) Euro-CP programme to complement its domestic CP and MTN programmes. SEB Merchant Banking is the arranger. Lars Norland, treasurer at Volvofinans, says the programme's main purpose is to diversify the funding sources of the company, but the issuer is not planning to use the facility in the immediate future. He says: "The Swedish market will still be our main source of funds, and we only appointed two dealers on the Euro-CP facility as we don't expect to be a very frequent issuer. However we will use it from time to time, and will make our first trade in the near future." It is the first time Volvofinans has had access to the international capital markets, and with an A-2 rating from Standard & Poor's, it may find the competition intense. But Volvo Group, which wholly-owned Volvofinans before it sold a 50% stake to Ford Credit International last summer, has had a long relationship with the Euro-CP market, and the name recognition factor will play a big part in helping the newcomer sell its credit. Norland says: "This is a new type of funding for us, as we only had our Skr15 billion ($1.46 billion) domestic CP programme and our Skr4 billion domestic MTN programme before. Although they both had the capability of issuing in euro, we only use them domestically, so this new programme will be a helpful addition." Euro, sterling and US dollar will be the main currencies used, and maturities will be concentrated around one month and six months, although others will be considered. Credit Suisse First Boston joins SEB Merchant Banking on the dealer panel.

France CIBC is close to wrapping up the retail phase of a modest portion of senior debt that forms part of a £265m financing that backed the buy-out of Renault's transport and logistics business Compagnie d'Affrement et de Transport (Cat) in 2001.

Gumersindo Oliveros, who as director of the treasury department at the World Bank is responsible for the bank's debt capital markets activity, is moving to the buyside. He is to manage the World Bank's pension fund, starting later this month.

Wuerttembergische Hypotheken-bank has extended the dealer group off its euro3 billion ($2.64 billion) Euro-CP programme from six dealers to nine. Barclays Capital, CDC IXIS Capital Markets and Wuerttembergische Hypotheken-bank itself are the new dealers. They join Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Morgan Stanley and UBS Warburg on the dealer panel. The programme has $403.63 million outstanding off 10 trades and the borrower has issued in Swiss franc, euro, sterling and Swedish krona in 2002.

Gumersindo Oliveros, who as director of the treasury department at the World Bank is responsible for the bank's debt capital markets activity, is moving to the buyside. He is to manage the World Bank's pension fund, starting later this month.

The accumulation of the last few days trading has resulted in 57 yen notes announced yesterday. Most were for small sizes however and altogether they are worth just over $360 million. The biggest deal was a ¥10 billion ($75.45 million) trade from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter that goes out to October 2003. Most of the others were around ¥500 million to ¥1 billion. Credit Suisse First Boston did 10 deals varying in size from ¥50.05 million to ¥500.02 million and varying in term from one month to five months. The issuer has now made 51 yen deals in 2002. Other private banks such as BNP Paribas and Daiwa Securities SMBC were also involved, announcing eight deals between them. Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) was busy on the dealing side, leading trades for at least four borrowers. Among these were ¥1 billion deals for World Bank and New South Wales Treasury Corp, both with terms of 30 years. Eksportfinans did a ¥900 million 20-year deal via SSB, and Hitachi Finance (UK) announced a ¥500 million six-month trade via the bank. Kommunalbanken did its usual run in power reverse dual currency deals, twof of which, for ¥1 billion and ¥1.6 billion, were led by Daiwa Securities SMBC Europe (Daiwa). They have terms of 30 years. Daiwa also led a trade for Nippon Oil (USA). It was a ¥1 billion six-month note.

The story that CSFB is about to bin 300 bankers including 50 managing directors was designed to catch the eye in a very slow week after Easter. However, it is only fair to point out that the story is not new, that the timing is slightly premature and that the final number is likely to exceed 300. Our sources in New York, which will bear the brunt of the dismissals, say that the hit list has been locked away by Mr Mack and his pals - hopefully the new fellow Bayo Ogunlesi has also been kept in the loop. In order not to frighten the clients, the Mack plan seem to be to ease the most senior bankers out very gradually and to fill their pockets with gold. In a desperate attempt to soften the blow, John Mack and Bayo Ogunlesi have promoted Susan Kilsby to co-head of European M&A. Our congratulations to Susie as we love to see ladies legging up the corporate ladder. However, is it really true that the first presents she received from her staff were a DVD of the film Titanic and a lifebelt?

Swiss-Swedish engineering conglomerate Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) held a meeting in Zurich on Wednesday to present the renewed structure of its $3bn eight month revolving credit and outline its financial strategy to nervous creditors.

Swiss-Swedish engineering conglomerate Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) held a meeting in Zurich on Wednesday to present the renewed structure of its $3bn eight month revolving credit and outline its financial strategy to nervous creditors.

Algeria EuroWeek understands that Crédit Lyonnais and WestLB are working in an advisory/arranging role for the debt financing supporting Orascom Telecom's purchase of a GSM mobile telephony licence in Algeria.

Moscow Narodny and WestLB will today (Friday) sign a $40m one year facility for Aeroflot. The loan is secured by payments due by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The facility is for general corporate purposes.

ABB, the Swiss-Swedish engineering group, has announced that it will issue $2bn of straight and convertible bonds within the next three months, in conjunction with the $3bn credit facility it has secured from mandated lead arrangers Citigroup/SSB, Credit Suisse First Boston and Barclays. The bonds are also expected to help refinance the facility, which ABB is required to do so by the end of the year. The company will thereby extend the maturity of its debt and reliance on short term bank financing.