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The target date for legislation to amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to permit some bank cross-marketing under GLBA's merchant banking provisions is shortly after Labor Day, industry sources said last week. The competitive handicap the current cross-marketing provisions give banks versus rival insurance companies has some members of the industry resolved to try for Capitol Hill action, even though there is a risk of it backfiring if lawmakers start to make other changes in GLBA that banks don't want.

Bank of Novia Scotia and SunTrust Bank have stepped up to join Bank of America on Media General, Inc.'s $1 billion refinancing. Sun Trust is documentation agent, Scotia is syndication agent and B of A is lead manager for the credit launched June 5. The Richmond, Va.-based media conglomerate is involved in publishing, broadcasting and newsprint.

Bankers said last week an attempted carve out by J.P. Morgan Chase to create a $150 million term loan "B" from Interstate Bakeries Corporation's $800 million credit, will provide a valuable indicator as to how far institutions are prepared to go to attain paper. Priced at LIBOR plus 2 1/4% with 15 basis points offered upfront, bankers are curious to see if investors blink, as the levels are tighter than what the market has been getting.

Two Goldman Sachs-led credits backing Leonard Green & Partners-sponsored deals for veterinary companies are taking another walk around the block after weak syndications. Veterinary Centers of America is conducting informal meetings with institutions to help Goldman Sachs re-syndicate a deal that Goldman led for the company last year and ended up holding most of. Goldman and Wells Fargo are believed to be coming back to market also with a $350 million deal for Petco Animal Supplies, a credit that closed last October for another Leonard Green buyout.

Corporates have never had it so good in the Eurosterling market. Changes in the composition, attitude and regulation of the investor base along with challenging arbitrage conditions for triple-A borrowers this year have created a supply/demand imbalance that companies have been only to keen to rectify. Jo Richards reports on how the credit market has overtaken the Gilts market in size and what the future holds.

After several years of big M&A driven financings the UK corporate market now appears relatively flat, with few landmark transactions to excite. Banks are also scrutinising their loan portfolios more closely than ever as they pursue higher return on equity targets. Fortunately, the leveraged sector has picked up the slack and these deals just keep on getting bigger. Philip Carter reports.

A $40 to $50 million block of Owens Corning's bank debt traded at 64-66 today, which is up from the low 60s for the credit. Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown was rumored to be involved, although that could not be confirmed with officials.

BNP Paribas has hired a pair of credit derivatives professionals from Societe Generale in Tokyo. Vincent Boyer, credit derivatives trader, and Go Yajima, a credit structurer, will report to Stefane Delacote, head of credit derivatives in BNP's Tokyo office. Delacote said he plans to make additional hires. "We want to build up the team; covering high-grade, high-yield and exotic Japanese credits." He added that demand in Japan is growing from both portfolio managers looking to hedge their books as well as from local investors hungry for credit risk. Boyer and Yajima could not be reached for comment.

Credit derivatives traders turned their attention to Railtrack last week as shares in the U.K. rail network manager plummeted. The credit default swap spread for five-year protection blew out to 65 basis points/75 basis Wednesday from 45bps/55bps Monday. Anjan Malik, v.p. structured credit trading at Lehman Brothers in London, said "The market does not believe Railtrack can default, it is too strategic an asset." He added, "If this was in the U.S. it would be trading at 300bps or 400bps."