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Argentina defied critics this week by issuing a highly successful $1.25bn 20 year global bond, despite tapping the market after Turkey, Mexico and Brazil's collective $4bn global bond deluge of the past fortnight. The deal was the first dollar issue of more than $1bn by the sovereign since 1997 and is its first dollar issuance of any kind since April 1999.

Argentina defied critics this week by issuing a highly successful $1.25bn 20 year global bond, despite tapping the market after Turkey, Mexico and Brazil’s collective $4bn global bond deluge of the past fortnight.

China The $200m 364 day standby letter of credit facility for Cosco (Cayman) Fund Co has closed. BA Asia, the co-ordinating arranger, held $20m.

Market report: Compiled by Glenn Blackley,

Europe * Landes SRI

WHAT HAS become of Seth Waugh, the former 'Master of the Universe' bond wizard at Merrill Lynch? Waugh, who is considered by the Merrill ladies to be more handsome than Richard Gere, was due to be posted to London but never took up residence, much to the chagrin of the Essex Euromarket groupies and Girl Guides Association. Waugh quit Merrill but remember that he survived the short-sighted (in every sense) Herbie Allison's 'Night of the Long Knives' when a dozen Merrill managing directors in the capital markets group were kicked into touch and then into the East River.

The Region of Lazio has become the first European sub-sovereign to access the Asian investor base with a Eu250m 15 year transaction lead managed by Warburg Dillon Read. Over the past three years, Lazio has tapped the US market with a $300m dual tranche dollar bond - the region's inaugural issue off its Euro-MTN programme, the Euromarket with a Eu250m 30 year bond and the Euromarket and the Italian domestic market with a Eu300m two tranche floating rate note.

THE MARKET for bank capital securities took a step forward this week with the launch of a £525m equivalent tier 1 security for Lloyds TSB, just the second such issue since UK banks were allowed to issue in July 1999. The market is not about to stop there either - Abbey National will shortly launch a $1bn issue, the first to be marketed over the internet.

THE MARKET for bank capital securities took a step forward this week with the launch of a £525m equivalent tier 1 security for Lloyds TSB, just the second such issue since UK banks were allowed to issue in July 1999. The market is not about to stop there either - Abbey National will shortly launch a $1bn issue, the first to be marketed over the internet.

CHRISTOPHER Baines, one of the most amiable characters in the European loan market, has been made head of European sales within SG's syndicated finance group. He will be based in London. Baines' role - created especially for him - is pan-European in nature and covers the primary and secondary distribution of all loan based products syndicated by SG. Although residing in London, much of his time will still be spent in the Paris office. He will report jointly to Stephen Swift and Richard Rae who head up SG's European syndications business. Both report to Ian Fisher, the Paris-based head of global syndicated finance.

GENERAL ELECTRIC Capital Corp (GECC) this week completed the third and final leg of its inaugural foray into the global bond markets with the issue of a $750m three year transaction. The 7% of 2003s, issued through Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Smith Barney at 57bp over the two year Treasury, comes less than a week after GECC launched a $750m five year global bond at 63bp (Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs) and two weeks after a blow-out $1bn 10 year global bond, (Warburg Dillon Read and Salomon).