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Market commentary: Compiled by Jim Webber,

THE $585m three part credit for the Hellenic Republic, arranged by ABN Amro, was signed last week. The first part is a $190m export finance loan covered by the Swedish export credit agency EKN.

Last week the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) swapped a $1bn three year global to floating dollars at a level thought to be around Libor less 10bp. This week, it was a different story as it was able to add ¥150m to its 1.9% notes due 2009 and secure a negative interest rate. The notes were underwritten by JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and priced flat to the 1.4% June 2009 JGB, which at the time yielded about 1.71%. Fees added 3bp. Swap bids were 2.12% indicating Libor less 38bp.

India Arranger ANZ Investment Bank has closed a $50m loan for Haldia Petrochemicals and the deal was signed on September 30. The loan is for 8-1/2 years and pays a margin of 225bp over US$ Libor.

Kensington Mortgage Co this week became the first UK non-conforming lender to securitise its assets in a foreign currency. Lead manager WestLB sold the senior tranche of Kensington's seventh mortgage securitisation entirely in euros, accessing new investors at an attractive cost of funds. "WestLB suggested a euro deal to us about a month ago, as a way to reach a different group of investors from our normal buyers in the sterling market," said Martin Finegold, chief executive of Kensington in London. "It was a nice idea and it worked. We are very satisfied with the pricing, which is similar after the swap to what a sterling deal would have cost us."

WHILE BANKERS wait for news on the mandates for Koç Bank and Isbank, Körfezbank has awarded a mandate to Bank of New York, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and HypoVereinsbank, to arrange a $30m one year term loan. The deal carries a margin of 95bp, and has been launched to general syndication. Co-arrangers can earn 85bp for $5m, lead managers 77.5bp for $3.5m, managers 72.5bp for $2.5m and participants 67.5bp for $1m.

The Korean bank recovery story took a turn for the worse this week with the postponement of Korea Exchange Bank's $1bn GDR recapitalisation issue. The Morgan Stanley Dean Witter-led deal had been hanging in the balance since launch following a steep decline in the underlying stock in the wake of the Daewoo Group crisis.

German conglomerate Mannesmann this week posed the sternest test yet of the depth and maturity of the European convertible bond sector, launching a highly aggressive Eu2bn deal into a market where issuing conditions are far from favourable. Although the terms of the deal shocked some market participants, the jumbo bond was priced and allocated in the early hours of Friday morning - less than 48 hours after its launch - with all the signs indicating that the company and its bankers had pulled off an audacious piece of financing.