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Schlumberger, the oil field and technology services company, will be signing a $2 billion Euro-CP programme before the end of next week. Barclays Capital has been given the role of arranger. The programme will start trading shortly after it is signed, according to Philippe Petre, a member of the group's treasury in Paris. Total outstandings will not go above $1.5 billion and the issuer will be concentrating its paper in the euro and sterling markets. Standard & Poor's recently assigned an A-1+ short-term credit rating to Schlumberger's facility, and Petre expects that Moody's will soon assign its P-1 rating to the programme. Petre says: "The Euro-CP market is great if you have a good rating, and with our ratings we have no reason not to get the prices we expect. It is going to offer good liquidity for our needs." The issuer also has access to a revolving bank credit facility until 2007, which will provide additional liquidity for the Euro-CP shelf. These two instruments are the final stages of the company's refinancing strategy, introduced after the acquisition of Sema last year. No roadshow is planned, as much of the issuer's marketing and research has already been done. Petre says: "We have been preparing for this market by calling investors, touring the different dealers and talking with credit analysts we know from the issue of our other bonds." The dealers are the arranger, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Russian oil company Sibneft has made a surprisingly quick recovery from the battering it received from the market in November to launch a $250m five year issue via Citigroup/SSSB. The bond features a coupon of 11.5% and was priced at par to yield 721bp over Treasuries, or around 190bp over the Russian sovereign curve. The company had tried and failed to launch a similarly sized three year deal via ABN Amro and Citigroup/SSSB late last year in the face of a volatile sovereign yield curve and a poorly received issue from fellow oil company Rosneft. It replaced the bond with a 3-1/2 year trade finance deal arranged by ING Barings and SG.

Siemens has increased the limit off its euro1.5 billion ($1.29 billion) Euro-MTN programme to euro3 billion. Barclays Capital has been added as a dealer. The programme has $69.26 million outstanding off two trades.

Transactions increased: * European Investment Bank

Amy Yamamoto, v.p.-equity derivatives marketing at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York, resigned Wednesday, according to market officials. Yamamoto, a member of the firm's private client and retail team, reported to Michael Crooks, managing director and head of the private client retail team. Yamamoto marketed products to high-net-worth individuals.

* Bear Stearns is preparing a Eu300m collateralised debt obligation for Gulf International Bank. The three tranches of notes rated triple-A, double-A and triple-B by Moody's and Standard & Poor's will be backed by mezzanine and subordinated asset backed securities. All the securities in the portfolio are euro denominated. The deal is expected to be launched in around two weeks. * Barclays Capital and UBS Warburg have released details on the tap of a securitisation by Annington Homes Ltd, the company through which Nomura acquired part of the UK's ministry of defence housing estate in 1996.

Banca Sella, based in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, this week launched a Eu202m securitisation backed by leases from its subsidiary Biella Leasing. Lead managed by Crédit Agricole Indosuez (CAI), the deal was delayed from last year due to unfavourable market conditions, but was finally priced yesterday (Thursday) at the tight end of expectations.

RBS Financial Markets this week launched the first bond to provide finance for the university sector under the UK's Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The £60m index-linked bond, wrapped by triple-A rated monoline insurer Financial Security Assurance, will pay for new student residences and sports facilities for the University of Hertfordshire.

Bank One is preparing to launch its first bond arbitrage programme, or structured investment vehicle (SIV). White Pine Corp, domiciled in Jersey, will invest mainly in triple-A and double-A asset backed securities, financing itself by issuing CP and MTNs in the US and Europe.

Everton has become the latest UK football club to endorse the value of asset backed financing by preparing a $75m private securitisation of its future season ticket receivables via Bear Stearns. Although Bear has previously been involved in stadium financing in the US, this is the bank's first deal for a UK football club. The offering is a 25 year fixed rate deal shadow rated triple-B by Fitch. Funds raised will contribute to the club's four year debt reduction plan. Proceeds could also help buy new players and play a role in the financing of a new 55,000 seat arena in the Kings Dock in Liverpool.