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Argentina Barclays Bank (Miami) is in the market with a $65m USCP back-up facility for Banco BI Creditanstalt SA. The deal refinances an $85m LC facility signed in August last year.

Merrill Lynch is settling down in its new building by St Paul's Cathedral in London. The office is said to be huge, with a trading floor the size of a football pitch. Some are a bit worried that all the trading desks on the same floor might start competing to see who can speak down the phone the loudest. But others have more pressing concerns. Dean 'the dog' Fogg was quick to notice the absence of a restaurant in the new bank. And not only that, but the powers that be have added insult to injury and installed a multi-gym instead. What are they trying to tell their staff? That there's time in the day for play as well as work? As for the rest of the market, half are lying on sandy beaches in the far corners of world and the rest are working their fingers to the bone to keep up with the extra work. Monja Blattner on Barclays's MTN desk is escaping to Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia next week. And Barry Gartner, on the bank's CP desk, is jetting off to Tuscany.

Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland have won the mandate to arrange a £285m three year loan to support George Wimpey plc's acquisition of Alfred McAlpine Homes Holdings Ltd. The £461m acquisition by UK homebuilder Wimpey will enhance its presence in the southeast of England, where demographers predict that a further 350,000 new homes will be needed over the next five years.

Egypt Joint lead arrangers Citibank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi will sign banks into the $100m three year term loan for Misr International next week.

* Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein is shutting down its equity businesses in Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore and Taiwan. It will keep its regional M&A, debt and private equity businesses, but the equity sales, research, trading and on-line markets divisions will be affected. Of DrKW's 750 employees in non-Japan Asia, 350 will lose their jobs - 4% of the global headcount.

Lending banks that were counting on buying a chunk of eastern European telco debt from the proposed jumbo $1.475bn acquisition facility for Cesky Telecom have been disappointed by the compan-y's decision to opt for a Eurobond. Cesky's preference for bonds does have an upside, though, and appetite for telecoms deals has resulted in the oversubscription of Telekomunikacja Polska's (TPSA) Eu200m five year EIB facility.

Iran Iran is reported to have sent out a formal request for proposals to some banks about a proposed debt financing.

Other currencies collectively made up just 1.45% of the market on Friday. The selection was more diverse than on other days last week, with showings from Czech koruna, Swiss franc, Hong Kong dollar, Singapore dollar and sterling. St Michael Finance closed a £

* Deutsche Bank Finance NV Curaçao Guarantor: Deutsche Bank AG

Investors diversified their currency portfolios yesterday and other currencies made up over 11.5% of the market volume. Hong Kong dollar is getting back on form and was the choice of four issuers, but was not used in trades longer than three months. HSBC Investment Bank (Netherlands) closed four HK$80 million ($10.26 million) with maturities between five weeks and two months. Credit Lyonnais Finance issued a HK$8 million two-month note and Development Bank of Singapore also dipped into the currency with a HK$10.19 million 30-day trade, along with its S$1 million ($569,150) 30-day note. Credit Lyonnais Finance also issued in Swiss franc with a Sfr1.60 million ($946, 740) 11-month note and a Sfr3 million one-year trade that pays a final coupon of 10.850%. Province of British Columbia was in Canadian dollar with a maturity of 24 years. The C$200 million ($130.06 million) pays a final coupon of 5.25%. And Commerzbank was in South African rand, lead managed by Royal Bank of Canada Europe. The syndicated trade had nine co-leads. The R100 million ($12.09 million) pays a final coupon of 9%. It is the fourth note in this currency from Commerzbank this year and 35th overall this year.

Other currencies took a larger slice of the pie that usual, with 10 deals in sterling, Swiss franc, Hong Kong or Australian dollar, making up over 15% of the market. Nine of the 10 trades came from the banking sector. Barclays Bank closed a £

Just seven trades were announced yesterday in currencies other than yen, euro and US dollar. This sector saw credits that range between A3, A1 and Aa2. And the mid-term maturity bracket was the most heavily populated. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, rated A3 by Moody's, announced a Swedish krona note for Skr350 million ($34.50 million), maturing in four years. It pays a final coupon of 2.4%. Australian dollar attracted two names. Bank of Western Australia, rated A1 by Moody's, closed a A$100 million ($52.90 million) three-year note that pays interest quarterly. And Development Bank of Singapore closed a four-year deal for A$200,000. Westland/Utrecht Hypotheekbank, rated Aa2 by Moody's, was the only borrower in sterling yesterday. Its £