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Dresdner Bank’s withdrawal from its merger with Deutsche Bank sent shockwaves through investment banking arm Dresdner Kleinwort Benson this week as bankers were left questioning the future of the business.

South Africa * Telkom SA Ltd

Latvia Parex Bank is raising $15m with arranger Standard Bank London. The facility pays 125bp over Libor, and is a one year term loan.

The European Investment Bank's latest funding aspirations proved unsuccessful this week with a dollar transaction postponed due to market volatility and the pricing of a sterling bond delayed due to swap difficulties. The supranational was poised to launch its $2bn five year global bond mid-week and had appointed ABN Amro, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter as leads. But launch was abandoned in the face of extreme volatility in US debt markets, where swap spreads continued to widen, until yesterday (Thursday) when a rally in the Dow Jones prompted a slight recovery.

* Bear Stearns Companies Inc Rating: A2/A/A+

France * COB restrictions put paid to Fi Système's equity fundraising plans this week. Merrill Lynch was bookrunner for the Eu170m secondary offering. The rules - which effectively prevent secondary offerings in stocks which have had a falling price for a number of days - scuppered the offer.

* Allmerica Global Funding LLC Rating: AA-

THE US agency global debt issuance programme was validated again this week as Fannie Mae raised $6bn, the only borrower to achieve large volume in a market beset by turbulence in equities, swaps and credit spreads. Issuance comprised a two year security for $3bn and a $3bn re-opening of the 7.25% January 2003 Benchmark Note.

THE US agency global debt issuance programme was validated again this week as Fannie Mae raised $6bn, the only borrower to achieve large volume in a market beset by turbulence in equities, swaps and credit spreads. Issuance comprised a two year security for $3bn and a $3bn re-opening of the 7.25% January 2003 Benchmark Note.

FRANCE TELECOM has yet again sparked speculation that it is about to tap the syndicated loan market for a jumbo credit with the appointment of Credit Suisse First Boston, NM Rothschild & Son and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter as advisers for its potential bid for the UK cellular phone operator Orange. Talk of a large syndicated loan for France Télécom has circulated since Vodafone Airtouch won control of Mannesmann, the German phone operator that bought out Orange in the last quarter of 1999. Twice this year it seemed as if the French telco was on the verge of tapping the market for a blockbuster transaction. Each time, France Télécom and its bankers distanced themselves from any deal.

TV-BASED web browser service Freedomland-ITN is planning to list on the Nuovo Mercato in two weeks' time via Banca Leonardo, as issuance on the Italian growth market steps up following the success of e.Biscom last week. Freedomland is just one year old and offers a service of about 20,000 web pages through a TV set. The company, which promises to bring the internet to thousands of families without PCs across Italy and Spain, is seeking to raise Eu342m-Eu455m from the IPO.