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As one of the biggest mouths in the MTN world, Bruce Cairnduff has always been dear to Leak's heart. But just when we thought he was happy with his bloodstock lot he's resurfaced again. He's one of those behind entrust, the company that offers you a personal management consultant (PMC) for a mere £

Ex-Barclays trader Frair Appleby-Walker has finally resurfaced after a month out of the market. And she's ended up right where Leak said she would: at Morgan Stanley. Not a minute has been wasted in putting her to the grindstone: after just one week, she's already having to pitch up on Sunday to help the bank relocate across the road at Canary Wharf and get Klaus' equipment up and running. And talking of office moves, the BNP Paribas merger was finally made official on Wednesday this week. So Paribas' Daniel Cogoi will no doubt be clearing some space on the desk for their expanding team. And Sigurdur Nordal, FBA's ex-treasurer, has been replaced by Bill Symington, previously of Bank of Austria. The two toasted the Islandsbanki merger this week with an afternoon champagne party in central London. All present, including Daiwa's Cheiko Takenaka, were delighted with yet another baffling freebie from FBA: a beautifully framed fish-hook. Now we can catch our own dried fish.

If you think we've seen the last of him, think again. Yes, the eminent Bruce Queenpuff....ahem, Cairnduff, is back with a big return to sender stamped on his passport. Were the bright lights of New York outshining the MTN superstar? Did the yanks not let him get a word in edgeways? Hardly. Apparently, someone didn't realize that the whizz kid is really just another paddy who needs a proper visa, same as the rest of us. Nevermind Bruce, don't let that put you off. At least running around like a blue-arsed fly for Deutsche beats playing solitare at Sumitomo, eh? And just what does one do if invited to an Alpine evening, if you don't mind us asking? Yes, the IPA crowd at Citibank have set the standard for the party season, after it hosted such a bash last night at Stationers' Hall. What a treat it would have been to see such prestigious figures as Conor Gallagher or Mike Dillon dressed in lederhosen and yodelling with tankards of beer spilling around them. As usual, a reward will be given for photo-graphic evidence.

Skoda Auto, Volkswagen’s Czech subsidiary, launched a Ck10bn ($240m) three tranche bond issue yesterday (Thursday) — the largest ever locally denominated and publicly listed domestic corporate bond from central Europe.

Skoda Auto, Volkswagen’s Czech subsidiary, launched a Ck10bn ($240m) three tranche bond issue yesterday (Thursday) — the largest ever locally denominated and publicly listed domestic corporate bond from central Europe.

SNS Bank Nederland's (SNS's) efforts to build up its presence in the international debt markets saw some reward this week when the bank signed a euro2 billion ($1.95 billion) Euro-CP programme on Monday, January 31. Bas Snijders, director of funding, SNS, says it joined the market for a combination of reasons. He says: "Firstly, we generally want to get a good mix of cheaper funding which will partly replace our inter-bank funding. We also see the Euro-CP market has real potential. It very clearly opens up a new investor base for us in terms of type and geography. And finally, we traditionally produce long-term fixed rate mortgages but we've created a collared FRN in Holland which gives rise to one-year interest rate exposure." SNS is the financing subsidiary of SNS Reaal Group. It focuses on savings deposits and residential mortgages and has over two million customers. SNS Reaal Group was created in 1997 from the merger of SNS Bank, the fifth largest Dutch bank, and Reaal Insurance, the ninth largest Dutch insurer. The mandate to arrange the Euro-CP facility went to Goldman Sachs, its fourth since January last year. And it is only the second time the American bank has arranged a facility for a Dutch issuer, following that of Fortis Ifico in 1994. The issuer is also in the process of updating its euro5 billion Euro-MTN programme which signed in 1998. The ceiling is being doubled to euro10 billion and Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Nomura Securities and Salomon Smith Barney are being added to the dealer group. Moody's rates SNS A2 long-term and P-1 short-term, while Standard & Poor's rates it single A long-term and A-1 short-term. Fitch IBCA follows suit with A+ and F1 ratings. The dealer group on the Euro-CP facility comprises ABN Amro, Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, SNS Bank, Warburg Dillon Read and the arranger.

SNS Bank has underlined its strategy of rewarding reverse enquiry dealers. It appointed HSBC and Merrill Lynch to lead manage its public euro700 million Eurobond on September 29 and used Goldman Sachs as a co-lead. The issuer has said HSBC and Goldman Sach's appointments are a direct result of the reverse enquiry work it has done for SNS Bank's Euro-MTN programme. Neither HSBC nor Goldman Sachs are on SNS Bank's 12-strong dealer panel off its euro10billion Euro-MTN programme. But this year Goldman Sachs tops a bookrunner league table of non-syndicated SNS debt. Bas Snijders, SNS' director of funding, says that the US house has been responsible for selling $321 million-worth of debt for the issuer this year. And HSBC, despite only selling one $100 million note, has been active in the schuldshein sector. "HSBC has done a truck-load of schuldhein for us. We've been particularly impressed by the co-operation shown between CCF and HSBC Trinkaus since the merger," says Snijders. SNS Bank has a reputation of using appointments to its Euro-MTN dealer panel as a way of rewarding its favourite houses. Since signing the programme in 1998, it has added seven dealers and dropped two from the panel. Snijders says it will probably update its programme before the end of the year and that HSBC and Goldman Sachs are likely to be rewarded with dealership appointments.

Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia will in the coming days learn how Standard & Poor's will rate its debut euro issue, due before year end, following the annual meeting between the rating agency's analysts and Sol Melia representatives this week. The company has asked Deutsche Bank to lead the Eu300m issue, the first off its Eu1.5bn MTN programme. Sol Melia will use the proceeds to part finance the acquisition of the Madrid based TRYP hotel chain and to pay off existing debt.

* European Investment Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW) will find it tough to be a credible Euro-CP player, say many active dealers. Their comments follow MSDW's re-entry into the Euro-CP market, as reported in MTNWeek, issue 165. Louise Mason, associate director, Euro-CP origination at Barclays Capital, says: "MSDW have zero knowledge of the European short-term investor base. They only did one euro trade of under one year in 1999." According to MTNWare, MSDW traded $8 billion of one-year paper but it only lead-managed one euro trade for less than a year - for Peugeot. Giles Chapman, head of Euro-CP at Citibank, thinks that 2000 is too late to be entering the market. He says: "The market has moved on, and since Morgan Stanley pulled out of Euro-CP they weren't on the boat when it sailed. I think it's too late now." Credit Suisse First Boston suffered similar criticism when it re-entered the market last year after an absence of a decade. Yet, it has already secured mandates and issuer confidence. Other dealers comment that MSDW's global reach could bring new investors to the market. With so many new banks entering Euro-CP, a growing investor base is essential. MSDW declined to comment further.

Warburg Dillon Read (WDR) launched its on-line trading system for Euro-MTNs on October 21. The bank claims it will revolutionise the market and fundamentally change Euro-MTN business. But sceptical dealers think greater efficiency will come at the cost of client relationships. And issuers have concerns about disclosing levels on-line. Technology is the future, but is the market ready? Gavin Eddy, executive director, Euro-MTNs at WDR, sees only one way ahead. He says: "Issuers who don't participate in the database will lose out. Investors want transparency and if issuers aren't prepared to post levels they won't stay in the market. Transparency has to happen or the market won't grow." WDR's trading database, the first in the Euro-MTN market, can be accessed by institutional investors and issuers. It holds information on 400 borrowers. And 250 issuers are posting levels on-line. Despite having reservations about doing this, most issuers don't want to be left out in the cold in what could be a rapidly changing market. Northern Rock is displaying its levels on the system. But Antony Swalwell, senior manager, capital markets at Northern Rock, says: "We're open minded but it's early days, we are not really happy to post our levels on-line." And Simon Hill, head of Euro-MTNs at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), points out why transparency is not always appealing to issuers. He says: "I am surprised it is being advertised as a totally open system, where issuers broadcast levels to the world. Previously dealers used this private information to their advantage in winning trades and issuers could pick off investors with opportunistic trades. With greater transparency quicker issuers won't find as many opportunities." WDR's on-line system shows pricing levels for fixed and floating vanilla trades in dollars, euros, sterling, Swiss francs and yen. Live interest rate swaps and currency basis swaps are also included as part of its real-time pricing. The website will also be used as a medium to market new structure ideas. Eddy, at WDR, believes the role of the MTN dealer is changing. He says: "We wanted to automate as much vanilla business as possible. Dealers and salespeople are expensive, and by using on-line trading for all vanilla products it frees up dealers to focus on structured notes and more value-added trades." Criticism from other MTN desks is inevitable. Yet most are impressed with the speed of WDR's launch and they are happy to sit back and let the Swiss bank be the guinea pig while they research the benefits for themselves. Hill, at CSFB, says: "WDR must be convinced that the advantages a first mover enjoys in the internet business via scale and network effects more than justify its investment today." Yet other dealers believe increased technology could be at the expense of valuable relationships. One trader from an American bank says: "Technology makes business more efficient, but real growth comes from having people in seats doing sales calls. No two issuers are the same, and you can't replace the value of personal and individual treatment. This is a people business." But Eddy, at WDR says: "There will not be a loss of relationships. Dealers will still be in close contact with issuers. If vanilla business is more efficient we can give over more time to providing market colour and advice for borrowers, which is much more valuable." The benefits of the system, Eddy says, lie in quicker transactions, greater market transparency, and a wider reaching scope for investors. It can be accessed by fund managers whose smaller sized trades were previously not economical for dealers to spend time on. And the biggest pull factor for other banks thinking of on-line trading will be the unique information it provides about investor behaviour. But many borrowers are worried that when levels are shown comparatively on the screen, price will become the dominant classification of an issuer. Although Eddy, at WDR, is not concerned. He says: "Investors that buy on price alone will always do that - its unavoidable. The database gives investors more information through research and analysis sections and issuer website links. It will encourage investors to look more deeply into the background of the borrower." On-line trading could rapidly change MTN distribution, making the market more centralised. And desks could be streamlined as increased web trading leads to disintermediation. On-line securities trading, including MTNs, is further advanced in the US market and the Euromarket is sure to follow its lead. But reassuring issuers in Euroland may be more difficult. One dealer says: "The Euromarket is crowded and competitive and can get quite political. Issuers here are less willing than those in the US to give up levels which their peers will see." Fear of change is WDR's greatest hurdle. Its website was launched in an intentionally simple format. Full on-line trading will begin on January 17 2000, along with a variety of extra features, such as more currencies and market and trade analysis. Another dealer foresees much work ahead for the pioneers. He says: "It's not likely to be low maintenance in the short term. WDR has to convince issuers to post levels, make sure the system is used by investors and that the data is accurate. They'll have to put in a lot of work to ensure it's not just a scheme that looks good but never takes off."

* Barclays Bank plc Rating: Aa3/A+