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Transactions increased: * New York Life Funding

Corporate issuers led the way by volume although only two of them tapped the market. Toyota Motor Credit Corp closed a $455 million four-year trade via Nomura. The fixed-rate note pays a coupon of 4.050% and is due on January 28. Legal and General Finance was the other corporate name in the market. It issued a $50 million one-year trade. Royal Bank of Scotland issued three dollar trades. One was a $10 million three-year note via Soc Gen. The note is callable quarterly and pays a fixed rate of interest at 5.5% for the first two quarters. Thereafter it becomes a reverse floater. The second was a $5 million three-year range accrual via JPMorgan, callable semi-annually. And Royal Bank of Scotland's third dollar trade was a $5 million five-year range accrual trade via Merrill Lynch, callable semi-annually. Republic of Austria was also in the market with a reopening of a $500 million public trade issued on May 2 2001. The fungible note has been increased to $650 million due to demand from European investors and it pays an annual fixed coupon of 4.5%. Credit Suisse First Boston managed the transaction. European Investment Bank closed a $12 million 10-year, one-time-call, non-call-one trade. The note pays a step-up fixed rate swapped into floating $Libor.

Total Fina Elf contributed over a third of the US dollar issuance with a $300 million five-year trade due on February 12. The note was lead by ING Barings/BBL and JPMorgan. It was not the only corporate in the market. Volkswagen International Finance issued a $100 million one-year FRN due on January 31. In the public bank sector, KfW International Finance did a $100 million one-year plain vanilla trade. The note, done via BNP Paribas, pays a coupon of 2.31% at maturity. Credit Lyonnais Finance (Guernsey) did three $1 million trades, two of which go out three years and the third goes out one year. Morgan Stanley closed two trades for Rabobank Nederland and Council of Europe Development Bank. Rabobank Nederland's $10 million step-up reverse floater is due on February 25 and matures on December 10 2006. It is a non-call-one, with six-monthly Bermudan calls thereafter and it pays a coupon of 7% after one year. The coupon will then be 8% minus the 12m $Libor rate, stepping up annually by 1%. Council of Europe Development Bank's $20 million 20-year note has one call at 10 years and pays an annual fixed rate of 6.33%.

Private banks issued over half of the $350 million-worth raised off the 17 trades that were issued in total. Bank of Nova Scotia closed a $25 million two-year note and public finance borrower, Federal Home Loan Banks, also did a $25 million two-year trade that pays a final coupon of 3.340%. Public bank Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat Luxembourg closed three US dollar notes: a $5.75 million six-year trade (with final coupon of 3%), a $4.95 million six-year note (with final coupon of 7%) and a $7 million seven-year note. Council of Europe Development Bank was the only supranational borrower to tap US dollar with a $20 million 15-year note via Salomon Smith Barney. And financial corporate Beta Finance Corp closed a $150 million one-year trade.

The five banks fighting for mandated lead arranger status on Vivendi's Eu2.5bn refinancing are close to taking their places alongside bookrunners BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and SG. BNP, Deutsche and SG had thought they had won the mandate for themselves, and were looking forward to arranging one of the largest corporate deals of the year so far. The size of the deal would have translated into healthy league table points.

Sentiment in the dollar market was much improved this week by a $4.5bn convertible bond issue by Ford Motor Co, the largest such instrument ever launched, and by the surprise announcement from Tyco that it is to split four ways and to buy back/tender US$11bn of debt. Auto spreads tightened by 10bp on the back of Ford's successful transaction, and Tyco's dollar bonds tightened by 80bp-100bp versus Treasuries, its euro bonds by 50bp-60bp and its sterling bonds by 80bp.

Morgan Stanley launched a Eu173m equity placement in Sampo, the Finnish financial services group, on Monday. The shares were sold by Varma-Sampo Mutual Pension Insurance Company, which reduced its stake in Sampo by 3.6% to 8.9%. Varma-Sampo said in a statement that it sold the stake to finance its investment in If, the Nordic non-life insurance company. Varma-Sampo also said that the deal would allow it to rebalance its exposure to Nordic financial services in general and non-life insurance in particular.

Austria A bank presentation was held this week for the syndication of the Eu500m five year revolving credit for Austrian utility OMV.

We are in serious trouble over our selection of young ladies for The Prada Handbag awards in the EuroWeek Review of the Year 2001. Several doe-eyed Euromarket lovelies are refusing to speak to us and one especially grumpy girl reminded us of the pain which a well directed kick with a Charles Jourdan court shoe can inflict in the most tender area of the male anatomy. Hold back those kicks in the penalty box, please ladies. We were only trying to please, because we still firmly believe that female business talents do not always receive the recognition they deserve. Even a one-eyed judge would have to conclude that the international capital markets are essentially a men's club, some of whose members' lewdish behaviour might make even Millwall football supporters blush. There are exceptions to the rule of course - just look at the success of the likes of Zoe Cruz, Hope Pascucci and Abigail Hofman - but then count up how many Euromarket gals who, in our opinion, are underpaid or who are denied promotion. Mrs Pankhurst and the Suffragettes must be looking down and wondering whether their efforts were in vain.

Asset management firm WestAM is close to completing the expansion of its global fixed income and currencies team with the appointment of Moe Daniel this week. Daniel has already joined the London office as a technical analyst. His appointment follows the hires in November of Ju Yen Tan as a fixed income asset manager and Jim Hurlin as a fixed income product specialist (see EuroWeek 729).

Were you surprised to see the promotion of Robert Willumstad to be president of Citigroup and therefore the assumed successor to the legendary Sandy Weill? Our pals at Salomon Smith Barney had kindly told us that he was the man to watch, and how right they were. Our only concern for Mr Willumstad is that Sandy Weill just loves his job and that he doesn't always like to share his toys. Just look at the sudden fall of Jamie Dimon, who was once the golden boy on Sandy's first team. Then Sandy Weill and the taciturn John Reed were said to be closer than two peas in a pod, but suddenly there was only one pea left and Johnny was last seen walking the plank. Bob Willumstad was always going to be a frontrunner, simply because he does what Sandy Weill likes best; dumping billions of dollars on to Citigroup's bottom line. He runs Citigroup's huge and awesomely profitable consumer finance business, which last year accounted for $30bn in revenues. Like the UK high street banks, Citigroup knows every way to skin a cat or fleece a sheep and consumer finance is a licence to print money. Don't feel sorry for the consumer unless you are a good Samaritan.

Japanese issuers dominated the yen market on Friday, with the seven trades from the country taking a 64.4% market share in terms of volume. Toyota Motor Finance announced two deals, a ¥2 billion ($15.15 million) two-month note with a fixed coupon of 0.04%, and a ¥500 million 10-year trade. Daiwa Securities SMBC and Diamond Lease Company bith went for ¥1 billion two-month trades, while Hitchi Credit (UK) announced a ¥2 billion one-year deal, Mitsubishi Electric Finance Europe did a ¥1 billion four-month trade and Sumitomo Bank International Finance did a ¥1 billion 20-year trade with an initial fixed coupon of 2%. But step-up reverse floating rate notes were the flavour of the day, with several European issuers going for the structure. Landesbank Baden-Wurrtemburg announced a ¥500 million 10-year deal via Mizuho. It pays a fixed coupon of 1% for the first year and then becomes a step-up reverse floating rate note. Mizuho also led a trade for Venantius. The ¥600 million step-up reverse floater note goes out to February 2012 and pays a fixed coupon of 1.2% for the first year. The fixed coupon then steps up annually and the 6m ¥Libor rate is subtracted. Westland/Utrecht Hypotheekbank did a ¥1 billion 20-year deal with Deutsche Bank as bookrunner. The coupon is set at 2% for the first year then steps up by 20 basis points annually and the 6m ¥Libor rate is subtracted. Rabobank Nederland made its 29th trade of 2002, with a ¥3 billion step-up inverse floater. The note is a Bermuda-callable at six months, and has an initial fixed coupon of 1.8%. And Royal Bank of Scotland did a ¥1 billion 20-year non-call six trade. The coupon is set at 2% for the first year and then is 2% plus an annual step up minus the 6m ¥Libor rate. Commerzbank was the bookrunner. Deutsche Apotheker- und Aerztebank did a ¥500 million two-year deal via UBS Warburg. It pays a straight floating rate coupon of 3m ¥Libor plus two basis points.