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The Italian region of Tuscany is to sign a euro1.5 billion ($1.35 billion) Euro-MTN programme. Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and UBS Warburg have been mandated as joint arrangers off the programme. The region is rated Aa3 by Moody's. Ten Italian regions have signed Euro-MTN facilities since 1997, seven of which are also rated double-A. Merrill Lynch has been arranger or joint arranger on six Italian region shelves. Deutsche Bank and UBS Warburg have arranged one programme each. Italian regions are not the biggest issuers in the market, using their facilities mainly for big public deals. This year the sector has issued over $1.5 billion-worth off six euro trades. Merrill Lynch led two trades for City of Florence and one for Region of Abruzzo. Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank joint-led Autonomous Region of Valle d'Aosta's debut euro413.17 million 20-year trade in May 2001, while USB Warburg has not done a trade for an Italian regional borrower since it joint-managed Region of Sicily's euro568 million deal with Unicredit Banca Mobiliare last year.

Rheinhyp has upped the limit off its note programme from euro15 billion ($13.48 billion) to euro20 billion. Deutsche Bank has been added as a dealer.

Rounding off an excellent year for Russian borrowers in the syndicated loans markets, Alfa Bank of Moscow signed in banks to its $20m six month pre-export financing at the end of last week and released the identities of its relationship banks this week. Joining the deal are Amsterdam Trade Bank, Donau-Bank, Dresdner Bank, Russian Commercial Bank, Baden Württembergische Bank, Bank Brussels Lambert, ING Bank and Natexis Banques Populaires.

MTS and Gazprombank proved that the bond market is still very much open for business for Russian corporates with the launch of two modestly sized, but ultimately successful, debut issues.

MTS and Gazprombank proved that the bond market is still very much open for business for Russian corporates with the launch of two modestly sized, but ultimately successful, debut issues.

Sanpaolo IMI has increased the limit off its Euro-MTN programme to euro12.5 billion ($11.23 billion) from euro7.5 billion.

* Bank Austria AG Guarantor: City of Vienna

* Akademiska Hus AB Rating: AA

WestHyp this week launched the first public synthetic securitisation of Dutch commercial mortgages when it transferred the risk of a Eu902m portfolio of loans via a Eu703.86m super senior credit default swap and five tranches of credit linked notes. In December 2000 WestHyp launched European Dream 2000, a fully unfunded transaction secured on European mortgage backed securities. This year, its attention turned to the Netherlands with Dutch Dream 2001-1.

Lehman Brothers launched its first securitisation of commercial mortgages this week, a £467m deal backed by UK loans originated by MABLE Commercial Funding Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank. Windermere CMBS plc offered six tranches of notes, rated from triple-A to double-B by Moody's and Standard & Poor's. All have a legal maturity of October 2008 and an expected maturity of October 2006.

Telereal Holdings, a joint venture between Land Securities Trillium and the William Pears Group, last Friday launched a £1.8bn securitisation of UK telephone exchanges leased by British Telecom. Lead managed by Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, the deal refinances Telereal's acquisition of the 5,667 properties that comprise BT's fixed line network in early November. Telereal acquired a head lease on the properties, and sub-leased them back to BT for 35 years.

Cariverona Banca SpA and Mediovenezie Banca this week launched a Eu196.6m securitisation of non-performing loans (NPLs). Lead managed by Lehman Brothers and UniCredit Banca Mobiliare (UBM), the deal follows a surge of Italian NPL deals this quarter, despite the expiration of the favourable accountancy regime for NPL sales in June, including Morgan Stanley's Eu1.017bn ICR-6 offering in October.