Kristine Falkgard Aged 33 Head of international funding, Kommunalbanken How long have you been in MTNs? I rejoined Kommunalbanken in August 1999, after having spent three years changing nappies in Brussels. Kommunalbanken signed its euro4 billion ($3.55 billion) MTN programme in January 2000 and I have been heading our international funding operation since then. I started in Kommunalbanken in 1995 when we were a major issuer in the domestic market. Almost all our funds are now raised through MTNs. What is your favourite part of the job? My job is incredibly varied which I like. We started from scratch one year ago and have yet to see a flattening learning curve. As a new issuer the challenges are many, but it has been a highly rewarding year and great fun. I have realized that even in the world of www this is still a people business. I really enjoy getting to know the many talented people around. Who is your favourite dealer of the month? Since we started in January 2000 we have executed trades with 17 different dealers and it is difficult to choose between them. We have nine dealers on our MTN panel and have a good and close relationship with most of them. That said, some dealers stand out from the crowd and we are greatly impressed. What has been the most interesting trade you've seen in the last few months? We executed a US dollar benchmark trade earlier this week after an extensive roadshow in Asia and Japan. It was interesting to start working on investor relations in that region and extremely satisfying to conclude our efforts with a successful deal. Another trade that has impressed us is the Region of Lazio securitization of health care transfers. As the first securitization by a European sub-sovereign entity it has been the focus of much discussion regarding developments of local government financing. What do you think will be the most important trend in the next quarter? It seems that some investors are placing huge emphasis on size and liquidity, apparent in the Telecom sector with huge funding requirements and ratings under pressure. Further turbulence in the stock markets could enforce the flight to quality, which should benefit smaller triple-A issuers like Kommunalbanken. We are also concerned with the state of the Japanese economy and how that might affect investor demand and MTN flows. What annoys you most about the market? Unpredictability - it moves. Which of your competitors do you admire most and why? I have respect for a number of our competitors. We work closely with the other three Nordic local government funding agencies in Sweden, Finland and Denmark where we exchange ideas and experiences both on funding and lending - and smilingly fight for the same deal. Closer to home, we compete with a very professional player which keeps us awake and focused. In general, I think there are lots of successful issuers that we monitor and learn from. At the end of the day we try to find our individuality and build a funding strategy that reflects our credit quality, our risk profile and our investor base. If you were not an MTN dealer, what would you do? I would sail around the world, experience beautiful sunsets and get terribly lonely - so I guess I am stuck. What car do you or would you like to drive? As a true Scandinavian with small children, I drive a boring Volvo. In another life I would place an order for the new Mini or the Beetle with the flower vase. What's your favourite restaurant? I can't be in London without a visit to one of the Wagamama branches. It reminds me of my student days in London. In Oslo I can highly recommend ORO restaurant and bar, run by the winner of Bocuse d'or 99, Terje Ness.
March 30, 2001
