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Corporates appear to have backed out of the yen market for the year. The 21 trades announced yesterday were all done by financials of one type or another. BNP Paribas announced three deals, all for ¥100 million ($783,822). One has a term of just over one month, the other two go out to March 2031 and January 2032. Credit Lyonnais Finance (Guernsey) also did three trades for similar sizes. They were for ¥103.1 million, ¥50.18 million and ¥100.49 million. All three go out to March next year. Earls Seven did some slightly more substantial trades, going for a two ¥3 billion deals that go out to March and September 2004. It also announced a ¥5 billion three-year-and-two-month note and a ¥2 billion deal with the same tenor. The biggest note of the day was one issued by Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat Luxembourg. It did a ¥10 billion four-month deal. A few supranationals were also busy. African Development Bank did a ¥500 million 25-year deal. Ninety of its 94 deals announced since the beginning of this year have been in yen. European Investment Bank did a ¥1 billion 20-year deal, and World Bank went for ¥1.2 billion and ¥1.1 billion 20-year trades.

The yen market has not slowed despite the encroaching Christmas break. Twenty-three trades were announced on Friday last week, a few of which were for amounts over the usual ¥1 billion ($7.96 million). Cadbury Schweppes came to the market with a ¥5 billion five-year note that has an initial fixed coupon of 0.68%. It was the issuer's eighth yen trade of the year. International Finance Corp and World Bank both went for 30-year trades. IFC's was a ¥2.3 billion note with an initial fixed coupon of 3.2%, and World Bank's was for ¥1.5 billion with a fixed coupon of 4%. Kommunalbanken announced four notes between ¥500 million and ¥700 million, and with terms of 20 years (two trades), 25 years and 30 years. Oberosterreichische Landesbank announced its fourth yen trade of the year, going for a ¥600 million 30-year deal via Mizuho. It has an initial fixed coupon of 5%. Statnett, the Norwegian utility, announced a ¥1.1 billion 10-year note. It starts in January 2002, which means the issuer did just one deal in 2001, a $30.54 million three-year deal. Republic of Austria finished the year relatively quickly in yen. Its four yen notes of 2001 all came after November 13, and it has just done its first of 2002. The ¥1 billion 25-year note pays an initial fixed coupon of 4%.

The yen market yesterday slipped compared to the previous day in terms of number of trades, but there was still room for Vattenfal Treasury to make its second and third yen trades of 2001. The notes were for ¥1 billion ($7.07 million) and ¥900 million and have respective terms of four-years-and-eight-months and six-years-and-one-month. The only other Swedish issuer in the market was Volvo Treasury, announcing its 31st yen note of the year. Pfandbriefstelle der Osterreichischen Landes-Hypothekenbank announced three notes. They were a ¥500 million 15-year trade, a ¥1.3 billion 25-year trade and a ¥700 million 20-year trade. And fellow Austrian issuer Oberosterreichische Landesbank is filling the gaps in its book, this time with a ¥600 million 30-year note via Mizuho. The only French issuer in yen yesterday was CDC IXIS Capital Markets, with two ¥500 million notes and an ¥800 million note. They have terms of 20 years, 30 years and 30 years respectively. Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat Luxembourg did a ¥500.4 million two-month note. First Chicago Tokio Marine Financial Products did a ¥400 million nine-week trade, and a ¥100.99 million six-month trade, while Kommuninvest I Sverige announced a ¥500 million 29-year note.

Japan is on holiday until Monday, January 7, so just two yen trades came through yesterday. NIB Capital Bank closed a ¥7.5 billion ($57.16 million) note that goes out to March 2004. The note was managed by Lehman Brothers and is linked to the Nikkei index. The coupon is paid once at maturity and is capped at 18%. And the other yen trade came from Merrill Lynch's special purpose vehicle, Apollo Spires. It issued a ¥494.00 million 21-month note that pays interest semi-annually.

JP Morgan launched a £43m whole business securitisation on December 21 for Red Funnel Ferries Ltd, which operates a passenger and vehicle ferry link from the south coast of England to the Isle of Wight. The deal refinances some of the unrated company's debt following its management buy-out from Associated British Ports in December 2000. The buyout was backed by JP Morgan Partners.

French reinsurer SCOR Group announced this week that it had placed a $150m catastrophe bond, to protect it against earthquakes in California and Japan and windstorms in northern Europe for the next three years. Lehman Re, the specialist reinsurance company owned by Lehman Brothers, also launched a $165m catastrophe bond on December 17, conveying the risk of an earthquake in California.

SG brought Eu800m of its corporate loans to market on December 19, the first public transaction in its series of nine balance sheet collateralised loan obligations in the last two years. Special purpose vehicle Champs Elysées issued notes and credit default swaps backed by a portfolio of reference obligations from SG's balance sheet, selected by Axa Investment Managers.

SG is preparing to launch a Eu183m securitisation of rental flows from about 380 French supermarkets and superstores within the Intermarché group, the first public securitisation of French supermarkets. French Supermarkets 1, a fonds commun de créances (FCC), is expected to issue three tranches of floating rate notes next week. Some Eu100m of triple-A notes rated by Moody's will be sold with price guidance in the high 30bp area over three month Euribor. A Eu50m piece rated A2 and a Baa2 tranche of Eu33m are also offered.

Banca Popolare Antoniana Veneta (BAPV) launched a Eu492.5m securitisaction backed by secured and unsecured non-performing loans (NPLs) on December 14. Lead managed by ABN Amro, the deal is the bank's second NPL following the Eu336m Antenore Finance issue in October, also via ABN. Coming at the end of a record quarter for Italian ABS issuance, the deal met original price talk for the double-A tranche of 110bp over six month Euribor, with a 4.5 year average life, in line with the Antenore transaction.

Delta Air Lines, the world's third largest airline, issued a $730.515m European Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificate (E-EETC) on December 26, secured on 19 Boeing aircraft. Lead managed privately by Crédit Lyonnais, the deal follows a series of rating downgrades for airlines since September 11.

French finance company Groupement des Industries Agricoles, Alimentaires et de Grande Consommation (GIAC) launched its fourth private securitisation of its loan portfolio on December 21. Lead managed by CDC IXIS Capital Markets, the Eu29.1m private placement offered three tranches of notes with a legal maturity of December 2011. Special purpose vehicle FCC GIAC 4 sold a super senior piece rated triple-A by Moody's, with an average life of seven years and was priced at 37bp over three month Euribor.

Banca Italease, Italy's third largest leasing operator, launched its seventh lease backed securitisation on December 14 , backed by performing leases, worth Eu251.6m. Lead managed by BNP Paribas, the deal was nearly fully subscribed following high volumes of issuance in the Italian lease backed market, including the Eu1.7bn securitisation for Locat, launched via BNP and UniCredit Banca Mobiliare in December.