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Royal London Asset Management will add the new commercial real estate mortgage-backed issue from Annington--a securitization of former military housing--to its £2 billion corporate bond portfolio. Eric Holt, portfolio manager, says he likes CMBS, because they are triple-A rated and backed by a physical asset. He also recently bought the latest Canary Wharf deal, which was priced at 70 basis points over gilts and had a coupon of 53Ž4%. He expects the Annington deal to come to market at about 100 basis points over gilts with a coupon of about 6% when it hits the market. The firm deployed new cash to fund the purchases. In general, the firm is underweight ABS at 7% versus its benchmark the Barclays Capital Over Five Year Sterling Non-gilt index.

A few loyal readers last week chimed in on several topics and tweaks that could be covered or added to this venerable section of LMW. With spring nearing, golf scores could add an interesting twist, traders noted. Also of interest could be an in-depth look at the deal toys (everything from footballs to bobbleheads) that banks score from companies when closing deals. And for a personal touch, there could be personals: snippets on the lonely hearted in the loan market seeking someone who, like them, likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. Could be more interesting than the latest bank robbery in Guam.

Wayne Schmidt, portfolio manager with Advantus Capital Management, is going to swap $70 million, or 7% of the firm's portfolio, out of Treasuries into corporates, on the view that corporate spreads will tighten as the economy rebounds. He says there is no particular trigger for such a move, and selection will be made on a credit-by-credit basis. However, he notes that the recent strength in the equity market is an indicator of a potential rebound.

This chart, provided by Citibank/Salomon Smith Barney Inc., tracks bid-ask prices for par credit facilities that trade in the secondary market. It also tracks facility amounts, ratings, pricing and maturities.

Swiss Re Investors, the New York investment arm of the giant Swiss insurer, is looking to add 2-3%, or $640-960 million, in crossover credits to its portfolio on the view that the economy will come back strong this year and productivity and consumer earnings will pick up. Andre Moutenot, the chief portfolio manager who oversees the firm's $32 billion in taxable fixed-income, says management restrictions prevent him from moving further down the credit ladder into true junk territory, or he would do so to pick up additional yield. He says the firm was making the trade last week, and he would not specify names of companies at which the firm is looking.

Fidelity Investments has unveiled a corporate bond fund that will invest in sterling-denominated issuance, which it will market to small- and medium-sized pension funds, says a firm spokeswoman. With FRS17 set to go into effect next year, there will be more demand for longer-dated corporate paper. The fund, launched last week in London, will be managed by Alex Veys, who also manages another sterling bond fund. In addition to sterling-denominated corporate bonds, the fund will invest in supranational and agencies, and will focus on paper with maturities of 10 years or more and rated triple-B and above. Fidelity manages about £1 billion in U.K. corporate bonds.

The adoption of FRS 17, a new accounting treatment of pension fund liabilities, is making U.K. bond managers move quickly to seize opportunities from a potential spike in longer-dated corporate bond issuance. The new rule forces companies to more accurately balance their pension assets and liabilities. London-based senior reporter Rachel Wolcott presents several examples of what some larger players are saying and doing about this shift.

The New York-based branch of Norddeutsche Landesbank (NORD/LB) is seeking an assistant v.p. to work on origination for transactions related to Hannover Funding, the NORD/LB sponsored asset-backed commercial paper conduit.Omar Bolli, senior v.p. and head of asset-backed finance, says the hire would round out the group, which now consists of three securitization professionals. The new hire will report to Bolli. The group includes Bolli, the senior v.p. who heads the group, v.p. Edward Weber and analyst John McDermott. Bolli says that after that, the group has no further hiring plans for this year.

Sharad Chaudhary has been appointed Banc of America Securities' new head of asset-backed securities research. The move comes one year after the position was vacated by the resignation of Meredith Hill (BW, 3/5/01). In addition to his ABS duties, Chaudhary has also been overseeing B of A's residential and commercial mortgage-backed research, says Pat Augustine, the group head of MBS and ABS sales, trading and research and to whom Chaudhary reports. During the past year, ABS research had been handled by Tim Patrick, a managing director and head of high-grade research and credit strategy.

Banc of America Securities last week launched syndication of a $390 million leveraged recapitalization for American Seafoods Group with a bank meeting in Seattle for existing lenders. A meeting will be held March 21 for institutional accounts and select new investors. American Seafoods is a harvester and at-sea processor of groundfish.

The $650 million term loan "B" on Goldman Sachs' and Citibank's $1.2 billion credit for SC Johnson Wax has been fully subscribed after launching two weeks ago in New York and London. The "B" contains a $100 million euro tranche that, depending on the level of European demand, could be upsized to $200 million, said a banker. The pro rata $550 million has snared a handful of banks, and is said to be progressing smoothly.