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Argentina ABN Amro Bank NV and Deutsche Bank AG have launched syndication of a five year term loan for steel company, Siderar SAIC. Pricing on the loan ranges from 90bp to 190bp over Libor. The facility will be repaid in four semi-annuals after three and a half years' grace. Siderar SAIC -- $100m

Bahrain General syndication launches today (Friday) for the $400m loan for Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). Arrangers are Arab Banking Corporation, Arab National Bank, Al-Ahli Bank, Chase, SG and Sumitomo. This week BNP came in as a co-arranger to join ABN Amro, Banque Paribas, Samba and Arab Bank, underwriting $20m each.

PROGRESS of the $1.5bn facility for Lukoil has been delayed again due to proposed changes in the Russian tax regime. Of the changes, the most drastic one blocks energy companies such as Lukoil from exporting until they have sorted out their tax arrears. It is another blow to the arrangers of the Lukoil facility -- ABN Amro, Citibank, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank and SG. They were mandated in early February but have been dogged by Russia's poor economic conditions.

WestMerchant Bank has recruited James Garvey as head of central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

China Co-ordinating arranger HSBC Investment Bank Asia and arranger Hang Seng Finance have launched the $260m fundraising for New Century International Leasing Co to sub-underwriters.

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A CONSORTIUM led by Merrill Lynch has been nominated to act as global co-ordinator of the privatisation sale of stock in Turk Telecom. The privatisation administration announced this week the group, which also comprises ABN Amro Rothschild and Is Yatirim, that will handle the share offering which could raise up to $2bn and is scheduled to take place during the third or fourth quarter this year.

De Nationale Investeringsbank is expanding its London project finance unit with the hiring of Chris Sutcliffe and Mike Bryan as managers. Sutcliffe joins from Industrial Bank of Japan and Bryan joins from Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Both will report to Darren Kyte, head of the London team. Among DNIB's UK mandates are the Hereford and Wellhouse hospital projects.

* US monoline insurer Financial Security Assurance has launched an innovative vehicle which will buy portions of deals it has wrapped. FSA Global Funding Ltd, which is itself guaranteed by FSA, will finance itself through a $4bn Euro-MTN programme arranged by Merrill Lynch. The vehicle's purpose is to provide an extra source of demand for FSA wrapped deals in the primary and secondary markets.

US ASSET backed issuers jostled each other to bring deals this week, as the market reached its traditional late quarter crescendo. One syndicate manager in London forecast $10bn of issuance by the end of the week, and a similar number next week. "The volume is heavy, but spreads are holding in very well, especially when you consider how tight they are in the floating rate sector," the banker said. The biggest guns were fired by Sallie Mae, with a $3.021bn global student loan deal, led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

KENSINGTON Mortgage Company, the UK non-conforming lender, broke new ground this week by creating separate, tradable securities from every scrap of cashflow on a mortgage portfolio. The company launched a £111.4m bond through Deutsche Bank, which was also the first UK non-conforming mortgage deal to be 144A eligible.

Paragon, the UK sub-prime mortgage lender, launched its first securitisation of consumer loans this week in a £300m deal led by JP Morgan. Paragon began originating unsecured loans in 1996, and has since begun to write auto hire purchase contracts, but it acquired the bulk of its portfolio when it bought all the assets of Universal Credit, a Lloyds TSB subsidiary, in March this year.