UK

National Australia Bank has laid out its plans to float its UK mid-sized bank unit CYBG in London early next year.

David Lloyd Leisure, the UK gym and spa firm, has final replies due at close of business on Monday for its £380m loan recapitalisation.

The loan market brought in the Christmas period in style at the Loan Syndicate Managers' Forum carol service last Wednesday. The singing was angelic, the mulled wine delicious and the sermon inspired some intriguing ideas.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) London has become the lender’s third branch to issue a dollar bond in just over a month. This is part of the issuer’s plans to ramp up its presence in the international debt market with bankers expecting more of its branches to join in.

Standard Chartered and Lonmin both begin new chapters in their stories today, with fresh capital from rights issues. In both cases the underwriting banks had to work for their fees, as the stories required explaining and each deal ended in a rump placement today.

Santander UK has beaten a path that could become well trodden by European banks in the next two years, printing a holdco senior unsecured deal in the Tokyo Pro-Bond market as it looks to broaden its investor base for issuing loss absorbing debt.

Lloyds Bank's shares rose over 2% on Thursday after the Court of Appeal ruled a series of high coupon enhanced capital notes (ECNs) sold to retail investors in 2009 had become useless for future UK stress tests and could be called at par.

Royal Bank of Scotland has put Anne Gebuhrer and Tim Skeet, both managing directors in FIG DCM, at risk of redundancy, adding their names to a list of FIG and corporate bankers the UK bank has recently let go.

Westpac

David Lloyd Leisure, the TDR Capital owned UK gym and spa firm, is widening pricing on its £380m debt offering after prospective lenders missed the Tuesday commitments deadline.

Drax Group, which operates the UK's largest power station, has refinanced its £400m revolving credit facility, making "minor changes" to its lending group, and cutting 50bp from the margin.

Lloyds Bank's shares rose 1.5% on Thursday after the Court of Appeal ruled a series of high coupon enhanced capital notes sold to retail investors in 2009 had become useless for future UK stress tests and could be called at par.