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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.

Allianz, the giant German insurer and money manager, has promoted PIMCO Chief Investment Officer Bill Thompson and Dresdner RCM Global Investors CIO Bill Price to be head of global fixed-income and CIO of the Americas, respectively, for Allianz Asset Management, according to BW sister publication Money Management Letter. The duo will report to Munich-based Joachim Faber and Udo Frank.

Banc of America Securities and FleetBoston Financial are rounding up banks for a $225 million credit for Schuler Homes. The two leads are looking for an additional five to six lenders to participate in the best-efforts syndication, which was launched at the end of June. The credit could increase to $400 million if more lenders step in, said Thomas Connelly, senior v.p. and cfo. Banc of America and Fleet will hold $75 million each while First Hawaiian Bank and California Bank and Trust have stepped in for $50 million and $25 million, respectively.

Lead banks Morgan Stanley and Bank of America have increased pricing and added call protection to the "B' tranche of their $500 million bank deal for PacifiCare Health Systems in an effort to jump-start a slow syndication. Pricing on the $350 million "B" tranche has been flexed up 1/2% from 3 3/4 % to 4 1/4 % over LIBOR. Call protection is set at 103, 102 and 101 over the first three years of the seven-year loan. Officials at PacifiCare and bankers at Morgan Stanley and B of A did not return calls.

Bondholders of "cusp" credits--those teetering on the lowest rungs of investment grade--are increasingly getting stung when such companies have to renegotiate credit facilities with commercial banks. Bondholders often find themselves pushed further below the commercial banks in the capital structure as banks demand collateral, or stricter covenants as part of a refinancing package. In other situations, banks are extending loans contingent on the completion of a bond deal if the deal does not get done, making a company a serious default risk. Refinancing difficulties at IMC Global (Ba2/B+) resulted in a four-notch downgrade from Standard & Poor's, sending the 73/8% of '18 down from $77 on May 2 to $56 on May 4. More recently, the agency downgraded U.S. Industries (Ba2/CCC+) two notches, driving bids on the71/8% of '03 to 77 last week, down from 92 before the downgrade. Market pros expect the trend to continue and say investors need to be on alert.

Bridge Information Systems' debt inched up to 41 from 38 last week in a trade of an undetermined amount. The New York City-based company provides real-time and historical stock data. Calls to Stephen Wilson, cfo, were not returned by press time. A market watcher said the company's biggest problem is it's a direct competitor with financial information provider Bloomberg. As a result, he noted, the company's credit struggled in syndication two years ago. "We looked at it and noticed the syndication process wasn't going well. An underwriter wanted to sell it at 98, and nobody went near it," he said, adding that geography may be the credit's saving grace. "Bridge had regional strength on the West Coast, while Bloomberg is East Coast-focused. But even that's a problem, since the financial centers are in New York and Boston," the dealer added.

Optical networks communications firm Broadwing has increased its credit line from $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion with a six-year, $200 million, "C" term loan.Credit Suisse First Boston was picked to lead the add-on for the Cincinnati-based company, which is intended to reduce the borrowings on the revolver to increase liquidity, said Mark Peterson, treasurer. Broadwing wanted to have a longer maturity date on some paper, noted Peterson, explaining the decision to use a "C" term loan rather than increase the "A" or "B" tranches.

Deutsche Bank hiredTed Hsueh, a former Merrill Lynch ABS banker, as v.p.for its asset-backed group's home equity division in New York. He will report to Nita Cherry, managing director and Peter Cerwin, director, who both report to the U.S. head of the asset securitization group, Richard D'Albert. Hsueh will replace former v.p. Lisa McLean, who is no longer with the bank.

John Stark, a longtime creditor committee presence as head of distressed investments at PPM America, has started Water Tower Capital LLC to advise creditor committee's with their workout plans. Stark, whose firm just received its first mandate when it was appointed as an adviser to the workout group of Finova corp., says that the outlook for distressed advisory has never been brighter, given the amount of creditors that have suddenly found themselves involved in bankruptcy proceedings. One distressed investor who has worked with Stark before reasons that with the increased defaults in telecom and utilities, two areas where investors were explicitly not making distressed bets, a premium will be placed on having a creditor committee adviser with no stake in the resolution.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Federal-Mogul's $1.75 billion in senior secured facilities to B3 from B2 due to cash flow concerns. The rating notes escalating concerns that the company will continue to produce negative cash flow through 2002 and that existing availability under the U.S. and foreign bank credit facilities may prove insufficient to get Federal-Mogul through the economic downturn. Federal-Mogul, headquartered in Southfield, Mich., is a global manufacturer and distributor of a broad range of vehicular components for automobiles.

Offers for Federal Mogul's bank debt have pulled back to the mid-60s from the high 60s and an analyst said it may be heading for a covenant violation if the company's current trend continues. Market players say the paper hasn't traded in weeks as the flurry of companies filing for Chapter 11 has put market players' attention elsewhere. The Southfield, Mich.-based company makes components for cars, trucks, and construction vehicles. Calls to a spokesman were not returned.

First Union is the sole lead on a $200 million refinancing credit for St. Louis, Mo.-based Graybar Electric after Banc of America Securities decided to walk away from the deal. A banker commented that B of A decided that the relationship was not profitable enough to be a co-lead, a position it has held for the last two refinancings and several years. Officials at Graybar and B of A did not return calls. Bankers at First Union declined to comment.