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ARRANGERS and providers of syndicated loans for Russian borrowers have found 1998 a complete contrast to 1997. Russia, with the economies of central and eastern Europe, led the way in terms of demand for new borrowing via the loan market in 1997. Indeed, in 1997, 331 loans worth over $32bn were signed from the region, with Russia weighing in with $14.5bn of deals signed.

Denmark JP Morgan (coordinator) and Den Danske (facility agent) have signed the $350m seven year multicurrency revolving credit for Tele Danmark. The loan, which was sold down on a club basis, was well supported in syndication but not increased. Banks have had to be scaled back to $29m from their original commitments of $35m.

Arrangers of the £1.6bn debt facilities backing Great Universal Stores' (GUS) planned acquisition of Argos have signed participating banks into the deal. Merrill Lynch, and not SBC Warburg as reported last week, brought in banks at either the senior underwriter level or senior lead manager level.

* Credit Suisse Financial Products Ltd Rating: A2/A+

* Rothmans, the multinational tobacco company, will tap the international capital market for the first time next week with dollar and sterling transactions under its newly established $2bn global medium term note programme. The company will launch two dollar issues, each for $300m, at five and 10 years while a £200m 12 year transaction is also in the offing. Programme arranger Deutsche Morgan Grenfell will be lead managing the two dollar transactions, pairing up with Lehman Brothers to joint lead manage the 10 year issue and with SBC Warburg for the five year transaction.

BOOKBUILDING starts on Monday for a ¥150bn offering of new shares in NTT Data, Japan's leading provider of information systems and computer networking. The global equity issue - led by Daiwa - will be the largest offering of new shares in Japan since the re-opening of the primary market in 1993 after the collapse of the bubble economy brought new issuance of equity and equity-linked debt to a standstill.

Eurobond syndicate practices have come under increasing pressure in recent months as a number of issuers and syndicate desks have cavilled at what they see as the indiscipline and lack of motivation involved in the traditional process. For most of those critics, importing elements of the US syndication process provides some of the answers. Eden Riche, head of debt syndicate at Morgan Stanley and Co International, argues that it is time for change.

* Deutsche Morgan Grenfell in London this week suffered a blow to its ambitions of building one of the world's leading emerging market debt franchises with the loss of Jonathan Brown, director of its emerging market bond syndicate to arch rivals JP Morgan. In his new role Brown will report to Richard Luddington, global head of emerging market debt syndicate. JP Morgan is one of an elite group of investment banks that can truly claim to be a global player in the emerging market debt sector. Brown's recruitment will boost the bank's already impressive pedigree.

RUPERT Hume-Kendall, the former head of equity syndicate at UBS who lost his job - together with most of his colleagues - as a result of the merger with SBC Warburg Dillon Read, is to resurface at Merrill Lynch. He will join the firm in late May as a managing director in the equity capital markets group, principally covering the UK and reporting to Brad England, head of equity capital markets in Europe. Roberto Oggioni, another ex-member of the UBS team, is also joining Merrill as a vice president in equity capital markets to cover Italy.

MORGAN Stanley Dean Witter, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson have been mandated as joint global co-ordinators of the planned flotation of Société Européenne des Satellites, Europe's largest satellite operator. Banque Générale du Luxembourg will act as domestic lead manager for Luxembourg-based SES's float, for which preparations got underway this week after shareholders gave their support to the IPO plan.

GERMAN reinsurer Hannover Re has used securitisation to add capacity to a new area of the insurance business with a DM100m transaction arranged by Rabobank. Known as L1, the deal parcels the risk of reinsuring life assurance contracts.

CREDIT Suisse First Boston will next month launch a Ffr800m Eurobond for special purpose vehicle Stade Finance, in a vivid demonstration of the growing attractions of structured finance for infrastructure projects in continental Europe. The 15 year bullet bond will be guaranteed by triple-A rated Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC) and will finance Stade de France, the stadium in the St Denis area of northern Paris newly built to hold this year's World Cup final.