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France Telecom has upped the debt ceiling off its euro27.5 billion ($23.66 billion) Euro-MTN programme to euro30 billion.

Great Belt has closed a $76.54 million three-year zero coupon note. The payment date is July 6 and the note will be swapped over to floating 3m Euribor. The trade was lead managed by UBS Warburg. Rolf Ohlsom, assistant treasurer at Great Belt, says: "When it comes to funding, the currency doesn't really matter. We swap everything into Danish krone or euro anyway."

* Linde Finance BV Guarantor: Linde AG

Banca Intesa is to sign a euro10 billion ($860.52 million) Euro-MTN programme today. Deutsche Bank and Caboto - Gruppo Intesa are joint-arrangers. The dealer panel is ABN Amro, Barclays Capital, Caboto - Gruppo Intesa, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole Indosuez, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Banca IntesaBci, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Schroder Salomon Smith Barney and UBS Warburg. This marks a trend for Italian issuers to appoint large panels, following Telecom Italia's 15 dealers this year, UniCredito Italiano's 14 dealers and Edison's 17 dealers last year. Banca Intesa planned to sign the programme earlier this year, but it postponed the signing due to its merger with Banca Commerciale Italiana.

KPN spreads remained volatile this week after the Dutch telco dispelled hopes of a Eu5.5bn rights issue to reduce its debt. Over the past fortnight, spreads on KPN's outstanding bonds had been tightening as market expectations grew. But the bonds gave up most of those gains on Monday after the company said it did not plan a rights issue. KPN said it would focus on forging an alliance with another player in the European market.

Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz has closed a $15 million callable trade via ABN Amro. The trade is callable after the first year and during the first year interest will have a floating rate, linked to 6m US$ Libor+50 basis points. If the trade is not called, the floating rate will become fixed rate. Frank Parensen, Landesbank Rheinland Pfalz's funding officer, says: "We've done quite a few of these callables this year - driven by investor demand. I think the investors are mostly out of Asia - mainly Japan. We have already done 51 issues this year, raising $6.5 billion. We have between $3 billion and $4 billion still to do this year."

Bahrain Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) has awarded seven banks the mandate to arrange a $100m loan.

Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide) has issued a £

AIG Financial Products has hired Jeffrey Robbins, ceo of derivatives boutique First Chicago Tokio Marine Financial Products in Tokyo, and a 15-year veteran of First Chicago/Bank One, as managing director, marketing in Tokyo. In this new position Robbins is responsible for marketing the firmÕs structured financial products. AIG FP likely will expand the operation with additional hires, Robbins noted, declining to elaborate.

* Bank of Nova Scotia Rating: Aa3/A+/AA-

Finconsumo, the Italian lender jointly owned by Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino and CC-Holding GmbH, the German subsidiary of Banco Santander Central Hispano, this week launched its second securitisation of consumer loans in a deal worth Eu258.3m. Lead managed by Crédit Agricole Indosuez (books) and Banco Santander Central Hispano, the deal was structured differently to the one launched last December, to give it greater appeal to investors.

French car manufacturer Peugeot Citroën this week launched its first securitisation - a Eu1bn deal backed by some 216,000 of its French car loans. Lead managed by Crédit Agricole Indosuez and Deutsche Bank, the deal is the largest securitisation backed by auto loans to be launched out of Europe and the first by a French captive for some 10 years.