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Diners Card Finance has signed a euro2 billion ($1.77 billion) asset-backed MTN shelf. Salomon Smith Barney is the arranger and sole dealer. Rathgar Capital Corp has signed an asset-backed Euro-CP and an asset-backed Euro-MTN facility. Merrill Lynch is arranger off both facilities. The Euro-CP dealers are the arranger, Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley. The same dealers have been added to the Euro-MTN shelf, but Goldman Sachs and Mizuho also join them. The programme sizes were not confirmed at time of publication.

Three new issuers are rumoured to be coming to the MTN market in the near future. Scania is due to sign a euro1.5 billion ($1.32 billion) Euro-MTN programme; Shinsei Bank is set to complete a $5 billion MTN programme; TCB Card is putting the finishing touches to a ¥20 billion ($164.53 million) MTN programme. And Corporacion Durango is due to sign a $100 million Euro-CP facility.

Competitors have suggested that Merrill Lynch is reorganising itself in a desperate effort to prevent itself from losing out to rivals in Asia. Lou Wolfe, head of investment banking for Asia Pacific and Australasia, and Steve Theobald, head of financial institutions group (FIG), have left the bank, along with other members of the FIG team.

* It has emerged that M&A dealmaker Bruce Wasserstein was in discussions with Lazard for many years before finally tying his future to the firm late last week. Lazard announced on Friday November 16 that Wasserstein had been appointed to replace Michel David-Weill as head, while Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein confirmed his departure as executive chairman.

Kuwait EuroWeek hears that the one-stop syndication for the refinancing of the international debt facilities for Equate Petrochemical Co KSC is on the verge of being signed. This is a fast and positive result for the Middle Eastern loan market and is likely to provide the momentum for a number of other deals to get underway in the last weeks of the year.

Croatia The Republic of Croatia is preparing to send out RFPs next week for an up to Eu500m seven year Eurobond it hopes to launch in the first quarter of next year, according to Hrvoje Radovanic, assistant to the Croatian minister of finance.

Nomura's new head of securitisation and asset finance, Tariq Rafique, this week made a bold step towards restocking the bank's severely depleted team in London. Nomura hired five staff, including two of Rafique's former colleagues from ABN Amro - Neil Basu and Olivier Defaux.

Nomura's new head of securitisation and asset finance, Tariq Rafique, this week made a bold step towards restocking the bank's severely depleted team in London. Nomura hired five staff, including two of Rafique's former colleagues from ABN Amro - Neil Basu and Olivier Defaux.

* Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale

Seventeen trades were closed on Friday outside of dollar, euro and yen. Hong Kong dollar was the busiest currency as usual. Royal Bank of Scotland did the largest trade in the currency - a three-year HK$150 million ($19.23 million) MTN that carries a quarterly interest payment. There was interest in sterling too, where three trades were done for $184.14 million. Scottish & Newcastle closed a five-year £

Nine trades were closed in other currencies for $388.64 million. Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen did a six-year £

Fifteen trades were done in other currencies on Monday - a slight dip from last week's close. Seven trades were done in Hong Kong dollar. Abbey National closed two trades for HK$35 million ($4.49 million) and one note for HK$30 million. NBNZ International looked for larger volume with a HK$234 million note that matures on December 3 2006. The note pays an annual coupon of 4.950%. Daiwa SMBC lead-managed a A$400 million ($208.80 million) note for Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank. The trade pays interest semi-annually and has a coupon of 5.120%. The note carries standard Euro-MTN documentation but is associated to the Uridashi market in Japan. And Pfandbriefstelle der Osterreichischen Landes-Hypothekenbanken closed a Swiss franc trade. The note was for Sfr100 million ($60.22 million) and has a tenor of eight years. It carries an annual interest payment of 3.000% and was led by Credit Suisse First Boston.