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SPECULATION intensified this week over the medium sized facility for First Active, formerly the First National Building Society. Bankers say Barclays and WestLB were officially mandated yesterday (Thursday). Observers say the deal is Eu400m. However, there has been confusion over the deal's size.

The Formula One Group’s $1.4bn securitisation was dragged back into the glare of publicity this week, as the European Commission’s competition authority issued a formal objection to some of the company’s television contracts.

The Formula One Group's $1.4bn securitisation was dragged back into the glare of publicity this week, as the European Commission's competition authority issued a formal objection to some of the company's television contracts.

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ARRANGERS Argentaria, BBV, Citibank and SG have closed syndication of the $1bn transaction for Valenciana de Cementos and have increased the deal to $1.1bn. Arrangers on this facility and on deals for borrowers such as Papelera Peninsular, Cintra and Aspro Ocio, have had to compete for investors' attention with the $9bn jumbo acquisition financing for Repsol.

The international capital markets got what they wanted and expected this week as the Fed raised US interest rates by 25bp, but with all eyes focused on the Fed's decision for the early part of the week the pace of new issue activity was slow. Bankers hope that the new direction from the Fed - and its decision to make a swift return to a neutral stance on interest rates - will lead to a much more benign issuing environment through the summer months. But attention will still shift to today's (Friday) non-farm payroll figures for confirmation that the Fed has called it right.

France ABN Amro, Natexis Banque-BFCE and WestLB are due to oversee the signing of the Eu1bn revolving credit for Casino Guichard-Perrachon today (Friday).

International investors will get their first opportunity to buy bonds backed by New Zealand mortgages next week, when Westpac launches a $438m deal, including $357m of Eurobonds. Securitisation has made only tentative progress in New Zealand - apart from a government related transaction structured by Fay Richwhite in the early 1990s and some trade receivables deals through conduits, the country has produced just four MBS deals.

n Inter-American Development Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

The international capital markets got what they wanted and expected this week as the Fed raised US interest rates by 25bp, but with all eyes focused on the Fed's decision for the early part of the week the pace of new issue activity was slow. Bankers hope that the new direction from the Fed - and its decision to make a swift return to a neutral stance on interest rates - will lead to a much more benign issuing environment through the summer months. But attention will still shift to today's (Friday) non-farm payroll figures for confirmation that the Fed has called it right.

The Lloyds TSB group launched a five-pronged attack on the market, with three tranches of subordinated sterling debt and two tranches of subordinated euro debt. The total size of the deal was the equivalent to about $2.8bn. The sterling legs, all in the form of step-up callable perpetuals, were swapped at the call date to floating sterling, the borrower was reported to confirm. Each leg is expected to be called, as the step-ups are pretty punitive.