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The Deal Roll-off Chart, provided by Capital DATA Loanware, lists the 50 largest leveraged credit facilities in the U.S. market that are due to mature this month. It is designed to provide a look at potentially available money in the market as credits are renewed or retired.

Merrill Lynch Investment Managers will make an off-index bet on the European corporate market once the yield curve flattens later this year. Currently, the steep European corporate yield curve favors trades in the swaps market, says London-based portfolio manager, Nick Gartside. The specific credits the firm will add to its E500 million European government bond portfolio have yet to be determined, but it will likely select lower-rated defensive names in the retail and utilities sector. In addition, depending on the relative value of zloty- and forint-denominated bonds, Gartside may tap into the Polish and Hungarian bond markets for some excess returns. Gartside would make these trades on purely an opportunistic basis.

The Texas Permanent School Fund is looking to increase its position in agency debentures, corporates and commercial mortgage-backed securities. It will make the moves using royalties from oil fields it owns and what could be $300-400 million in new money from equity holdings. Carlos Veintemilles, portfolio manager of $7 billion in fixed-income assets, says the fund's board will meet this week to determine whether to adhere to its allocation guidelines and shift equity assets to fixed income. Equities currently account for 59% of total assets, and the fund's board had earlier approved a 55:45 equity/fixed-income split.

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.

Linda Patterson, portfolio manager of Austin, Texas-based Patterson & Associates, says her firm will place $250 million in new cash she expects to receive into short-term agency debentures in anticipation of a Federal Reserve rate cut in two weeks. Patterson says the firm's clients are government entities that are now collecting their tax money, which is why she expects the cash infusion. She reasons that she will place the cash into agency debentures instead of Treasuries--the only two asset classes in which the firm invests--because she believes Treasuries are overvalued versus agencies. She notes that agencies are currently yielding 23 basis points more than Treasuries on two-year and shorter maturities.

Wyndham International's bank debt got a slight boost last week in anticipation of amendments that were finalized Thursday. The "B" paper traded up to the 87 range, while the increasing-rate loan traded in the 85 range. This is up from prior levels of the low 80s. Volume was estimated around $15 million. Calls to the company were referred to Andrew Jordan, spokesman, who confirmed that the company had a meeting with the bank syndicate on Thursday. He declined to comment further.

Enron Credit's London-based head of syndication has left the company and will soon be landing at CIBC World Markets. Rabin Barker-Bennett will join CIBC's debt capital markets group in London at the end of the month, according to an official familiar with the move. Lisa Russell, a CIBC spokeswoman, did not comment and Barker-Bennett could not be reached.

Fleet Boston Financial has lined up three banks to round out the syndicate on a $125 million line it is providing for Koger Equity, but is still in search of one additional player. The bank is waiting for one bank which is expected to sign on shortly, said Jeffrey Warwick, senior banker. Fleet, which acted as administrative agent and lead arranger, will hold $35 million. He declined to comment on the hold levels for Wells Fargo Bank, which will be acting as syndication agent, Compass Bank and Comerica Bank.

Moody's Investors Service has placed Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific's Baa3 senior unsecured debt ratings and Prime-3 short-term rating for commercial paper under review for possible downgrade to the dismay of company officials. A junk-grade rating would push up borrowing costs for the company, afflicted by weak performance and higher than expected debt. But, Georgia-Pacific spokesman Greg Guest disagrees with the announcement. "Georgia-Pacific is disappointed with Moody's review and confused by the timing. Georgia-Pacific is ahead of the debt-retirement schedule and is in negotiations with Willamette. If the Willamette sale goes through the debt-retirement schedule would be ahead of time," he said. Georgia-Pacific believes the review has more to do with the climate and position of Moody's than the fundamentals of the business, Guest rejoined.

Greenwich Capital Markets has hired Karim Bhayani to head up the structuring of new issue collateralized mortgage obligations. Bhayani, who will be a v.p., fills a newly created role and reports to mortgage-backed securities structuring chief Neil Ahuja. He started at GCM in late December. His prior job was as a v.p. on the CMO origination desk at J.P. Morgan Securities, where he reported to CMO trading and origination chief Alan Galishoff. Bhayani left JPMS in late October, after the firm began a fixed-income division wide cost-cutting drive.

UBS Warburg will hold a bank meeting for Hollywood Entertainment on Jan. 23, launching syndication of a $175 million facility. The deal refinances a $255 million Société Générale-led facility that expires in March and is contingent on a $100 million stock sale (LMW, 12/17). Comprising a $25 million revolver and a $150 million term loan, pricing should be in the LIBOR plus 31/ 2% range for the revolver and LIBOR plus 4% for the term loan, said a banker.