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ARGENTARIA, one of Spain's largest banks, is set to offer a novel Eu1bn to Eu1.5bn security, marketed as the first jumbo Pfandbrief from Spain.

KBC BANK Global Trade Finance Bank is waiting for one more reply before wrapping up a Eu65m floating rate note facility for the Agricultural Credit Bank of Jamaica (ACBJ). The tenor, at five years, is unusually long for a soft commodity deal. But the deal draws strength from the Jamaican commodity industry's 23 year track record of delivering its European Union sugar quota.

Bookrunners IBJ International and Banca IMI and joint lead Monte dei Paschi di Siena are on the verge of launching the first Italian collateralised debt obligation. The Eu263m transaction, Securitised Portfolio of Quality Receivables Funding (SPQR) is already oversubscribed, but the leads are waiting for the Bank of Italy's approval to launch the deal - it is very likely to come today (Friday).

n Credit Suisse First Boston will price La Défense II plc today (Friday). The Eu174.151m deal is the second securitisation to finance sales of buildings by Vivendi to SITQ, the international investment arm of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec. Backed by two office buildings in central Paris occupied by Vivendi and a new tower in La Défense tenanted by Kværner, the deal will comprise three bond tranches, rated Aaa, Aa2 and A2 by Moody's, and a subordinated issue of billets de trésorerie (French domestic CP), placed by CPR. A CSFB liquidity line will cover credit risk on that tranche.

Life Co, an independent Japanese consumer finance company, is to launch its first international auto loan securitisation through Warburg Dillon Read in the next two weeks. The transaction, known as Freya Funding Corp after the Norse goddess of life, will be worth between $200m and $220m, and will be wrapped by triple-A rated monoline insurer FSA. With a one year average life and five year legal final maturity, the deal is expected to be priced in the low 40s over one month Libor.

Paramount Hotels of the UK this week launched Europe's first securitisation of hotel revenues, sole managed by Greenwich NatWest. The £52m deal, Hotel Securitisation No 1, parcels cashflow from eight hotels in regional UK towns, and opens a new asset class in the fast developing market for securitisations of non-contractual revenues.

The UK government this week sold £1.02bn of student loans to Deutsche Bank and Nationwide Building Society, in the second such privatisation. A special purpose company, HONOURS Trustee Ltd, has bought the assets with bridge finance from the winning bidders, who plan to securitise the loans in mid-April.

FCE Bank, the European arm of Ford Motor Credit Co, this week launched the long awaited second issue from Ford's international securitisation programme Globaldrive BV. The Eu511.25m transaction, lead managed by Deutsche Bank, parcelled 108,000 car loans to German individuals and companies, originated by Ford Bank, FCE Bank's German branch.

Recently there has been lots of reported interest in the interest rate model of Brace, Gatarek, and Musiela (1997) (BGM), but anecdotal evidence suggests that it is proving difficult to implement.

Salomon Smith Barney and Macquarie Bank enjoyed a successful first week of roadshows in Europe marketing the A$150m equity issue for AAP Telecommunications, which is hoping to lure investors with news of its recent internet acquisitions and new internet focused strategy. A final size has yet to be set for the deal; as with all Australian issues that will depend on the bookbuild which will not officially start until the final days of roadshowing. Pricing is expected on March 10 at a slight discount to the share's market price.

The Republic of Argentina is considering an issue of $500m-plus five year bonds, possibly as early as today (Friday). Investors in the US said yesterday they had been approached by a number of underwriters with proposals this week and believed a deal of at least $500m in size was imminent.

Macquarie Securitisation, the unit of Macquarie Bank which finances mortgages for Australian non-bank lenders, returned to the Euromarkets this week with its first term securitisation since the Russian default, and its largest since December 1997. Lead managed by Deutsche Bank, the $800m issue for Puma blew out, as dollar based investors in Europe leapt at a credit story they know well, and which offers diversification away from US, European and Japanese assets.