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Croatia BNP, Creditanstalt and Dresdner have been mandated to arrange a DM70m three year term loan for HBOR, Croatia's bank for reconstruction and development. The loan will be launched to co-arrangers in the next few weeks. Czech Republic Joint arrangers ABN Amro, Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank, Crédit Lyonnais Bank Praha, Deutsche Bank and HSBC signed the DM250m credit facility for Radiomobil in Prague this week. See EW556 for full details.

* Associates Corp of North America Rating: Aa3/AA-

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank launched an exchange offer programme this week that will enable holders of its bonds denominated in currencies to be scrapped when Emu takes place to swap them for euro or euro-tributary issues. Over the past 12 months, the Luxembourg-based bank has been one of the most prolific issuers of bonds that will redenominate and become fungible once the euro is introduced. It has jockeyed with other top borrowers to create bonds that will become the benchmarks in the new currency.

THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank launched an exchange offer programme this week that will enable holders of its bonds denominated in currencies to be scrapped when Emu takes place to swap them for euro or euro-tributary issues.

Mexico * Mexico Capital Protected Investment Ltd

* European Investment Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

THE FINNISH government plans to float off part of the equity capital in Finnair, expanding the list of assets which will be put up for sale in the coming year. The government holds 58% of the stock. This ownership level is likely to fall to around 40% through the sale of the carrier's stock to international investors. The state is asking international and local investment banks to pitch for the role of adviser and global co-ordinator on the deal, which may appear in the markets by the fourth quarter of this year or early in 1999.

FREDDIE MAC furthered its strategy of broadening its investor base when it launched an unlimited size multi-currency Euro Discount Note programme this week. The notes may be denominated in any currency in maturities ranging from seven to 365 days. SBC Warburg Dillon Read arranged the programme and will act as sole dealer. Scott McCarthy, Freddie Mac's director of corporate funding, said that the programme would complement the agency's quarterly reference note programme.

* Mazda Motor Corp Rating: Baa3

LEAD manager Goldman Sachs has launched one of the most important sales of stock yet to emerge from the Turkish market with the $258m share sale of Koç, one of the country's most important conglomerates. The Istanbul market has for some years failed to provide international investors with large, liquid deals from the wide variety of top class companies which exist in Turkey, a gap the long-awaited sale of shares in Koç will more than remedy that.

THE LONG awaited and much discussed flotation for Goldman Sachs, one of the oldest and most successful investment banks in the US, became a reality this week. Following a meeting of the ruling executive committee over the weekend, and support from the bank's partners, the bank announced on Monday its decision to go ahead with the initial public offering, which will involve the sale of up to 15% of its equity.

GOLDMAN Sachs will wrap up general syndication of the $2.6bn credit facility backing Bacardi's purchase of Dewar's Scotch Whisky and Bombay Gin from Diageo today (Friday). After an extremely successful senior syndication -- which raised over $5bn -- general syndication was always going to be a small affair and Goldman's original target of about $300m has been raised