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Ford Motor Credit has upped the limit on its euro5 billion ($4.29 billion) Euro-MTN programme to euro8 billion and JP Morgan has replaced Merrill Lynch as a dealer. The facility has $4.60 billion oustanding off 29 trades.

Some dealers are pleased that there is demand for long-dated funding. "We're not printing that many tickets, but at least the deals we are doing are a little more interesting than usual." Credit-Linked & Structured Securities, Deutsche Bank's Channel Island's SPV, did a euro28.94 million ($24.31 million) trade that matures in November 18 2040. This is its seventh 40-year or longer note since March. The longest tenor it has hit is 50 years with a Ffr621 million ($91 million) note it sold in March, which paid interest semi-annually. The final coupon was 5.14%.

Freddie Mac launched and priced its second EuReference Note this week, overcoming difficult market conditions and scepticism that the borrower would be able to square its aim of offering a liquid benchmark at a clearing level with its need to maintain competitive funding levels.

Ile de France is set to become the first French local authority to join the Euro-MTN market after announcing that it will sign a euro1 billion ($857.70 billion) Euro-MTN programme early next year. The arrangers are BNP Paribas and Merrill Lynch. Ile de France has decided against going on a roadshow and will instead use the Bloomberg network to market the programme. The authority has already used a Bloomberg roadshow for its euro100 million standalone issue in October 1999. Andre Autrand, chief financial officer at Ile de France, says: "We are very keen on the electronic roadshow as we have experience with it and it gets us results in the short-term. We shall also use the websites of our arrangers." In the first year the issuer will be limited to raising euro300 million. The private markets will satisfy one-third of this and two-thirds will come from larger longer-dated issues. Autrand says: "We are looking for long-dated trades up to a maximum of 15 years. In the Euro-MTN market we are looking at eight to 15 years. We would like to look beyond this but at the moment we are restricted to this maturity. Nevertheless it is an option we would consider." The issuer says it is keen to encourage reverse enquiry and hopes that use of the websites will assist this function. Autrand says: "We are hoping that reverse enquiry will let us reach new sources of finance at reduced cost. It takes three to four days for us to turn around a trade but we are making efforts to make this process quicker, especially with the internet." Despite not being guaranteed by the French government, the programme will be the first Euro-MTN facility from a European local authority rated triple-A by Moody's and Standard & Poor's. The dealers are ABN Amro, CDC Marches, Deutsche Bank, Dexia Capital Markets, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, UBS Warburg and the two arrangers.

Freddie Mac launched and priced its second EuReference Note this week, overcoming difficult market conditions and scepticism that the borrower would be able to square its aim of offering a liquid benchmark at a clearing level with its need to maintain competitive funding levels.

Corporate banking used to be a business based on relationships - banks would give companies cheap loans in return for other business. But customers have too rarely kept their side of the bargain, and the returns are pitiful.

Gillette has signed a $1 billion Euro-CP programme. The dealers are Credit Suisse First Boston as arranger and Deutsche Bank.

Gas Natural has increased its euro1 billion ($843.84 million) Euro-MTN shelf to euro2 billion. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has been added as a dealer.

On January 1, 2001, the Hellenic Republic will, after a long and hard struggle, join the Emu. Everyone associated with the Greek capital markets is hopeful that membership will banish memories of the political, social and economic troubles of the past decade. In the debt capital markets, at least, this optimism appears well founded. However, as investors begin to compare Greek debt and equity capital markets participants with those in the eurozone, rather than with its previous emerging market peers and issuers are coming under increasing scrutiny. In this special EuroWeek report, Philip Moore examines whether Emu membership will prove a blessing or a bane for Greece as it enters a new era.

Heller Financial made its debut in Czech koruna with a Kr800 million ($19.61 million) trade that goes out to December 13 2001. It pays a single final coupon of 6%. This is the fifth note that the US subsidiary of Fuji Bank has sold this year. Its other trades were in euros, sterling and Singapore dollar. And since November 21 it has raised $104.19 million-worth of debt off four private MTNs. The trade confirms the prediction made in MTNWeek, issue 206 by Alex Haidas, at Deutsche Bank,who said: "As the market in Czech koruna grows there will be more demand via reverse enquiry. Demand will probably stay around the one- to two-year band, and as long as the country remains on a European Union-bound course it will continue to grow."

IBM Credit Corporation has increased its euro4 billion ($3.38 billion) Euro-MTN programme to euro8 billion.

The Eu3.3bn IPO of Belgian brewer Interbrew was nearly five times covered this week, even after the company came under a barrage of criticism for launching the deal before its takeover of Bass is cleared by the UK regulatory authorities. Merrill Lynch and Fortis managed to price the deal at Eu33, near the middle of the Eu30-Eu38 range, despite poor market conditions and negative press coverage. The company sold 88.2m shares in the base offering and 13m in the greenshoe.