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THE MARKET for bank capital securities took a step forward this week with the launch of a £525m equivalent tier 1 security for Lloyds TSB, just the second such issue since UK banks were allowed to issue in July 1999. The market is not about to stop there either - Abbey National will shortly launch a $1bn issue, the first to be marketed over the internet.

THE MARKET for bank capital securities took a step forward this week with the launch of a £525m equivalent tier 1 security for Lloyds TSB, just the second such issue since UK banks were allowed to issue in July 1999. The market is not about to stop there either - Abbey National will shortly launch a $1bn issue, the first to be marketed over the internet.

CHRISTOPHER Baines, one of the most amiable characters in the European loan market, has been made head of European sales within SG's syndicated finance group. He will be based in London. Baines' role - created especially for him - is pan-European in nature and covers the primary and secondary distribution of all loan based products syndicated by SG. Although residing in London, much of his time will still be spent in the Paris office. He will report jointly to Stephen Swift and Richard Rae who head up SG's European syndications business. Both report to Ian Fisher, the Paris-based head of global syndicated finance.

GENERAL ELECTRIC Capital Corp (GECC) this week completed the third and final leg of its inaugural foray into the global bond markets with the issue of a $750m three year transaction. The 7% of 2003s, issued through Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Smith Barney at 57bp over the two year Treasury, comes less than a week after GECC launched a $750m five year global bond at 63bp (Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs) and two weeks after a blow-out $1bn 10 year global bond, (Warburg Dillon Read and Salomon).

Mandated arranger CSFB is set to launch the £1.65bn facility for Thomson-CSF to potential arrangers next week. With the close involvement of the borrower, the bank has informally started to assemble banks at the top level. The justification behind the apparently tight pricing lies in the short maturity.

? Rod Cantrill and Matthew Taylor are joining Lehman Brothers to start up banking coverage of the European chemicals sector. They will report to Vinnie Lynch, managing director and head of European investment banking, and Omar Abboud, managing director and head of global investment banking coverage of chemicals. Cantrill and Taylor are leaving Schroders' European chemicals department. Cantrill was assistant director there from 1997. Between 1991 and 1996 he worked in corporate finance at Barclays. Before that he spent three years at Chase Manhattan.

Belgium ING Barings hopes to complete a Eu200m placement for Belgian firm Ion Beam Applications today (Friday).

Market report: Compiled by Glenn Blackley,

Pfandbrief Bank International, one of three institutions established to issue the Luxembourg version of the German instrument, this week launched its maiden issue, a Eu250m two year floater paying Euribor plus 4bp. Led by HypoVereinsbank, the FRN is only the second public issue out of Luxembourg, following an Eu50m deal for Erste Europäische Pfandbrief und Kommunalkredietbank two weeks earlier that was sold to one investor, and was the first to be syndicated.

Birgit Schauer is to join the Amsterdam office of ABN Amro on February 1. She will work on leveraged finance, reporting to Ross Langley. He in turn reports to the head of northern Europe and leveraged syndications, Madaleine Jacobs.

* General Electric Capital Corporation Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

Dollar swap spreads continued to crumble this week as the issuance remained at a brisk pace. There appears little let-up in the debt being brought by well-rated borrowers. Yesterday, it was confirmed the Republic of Italy was poised to bring a $2bn five year global via Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan. Swap dealers agree this is likely to be swapped to floating dollars. It should price in the low 50s against Treasuries, and yield about 56/57bp over all-in. With swap bids about 61bp, the borrower could just make it into sub-Libor territory.