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The Italian treasury has appointed Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and NM Rothschild as advisers on the sale of its 3.4% stake in Telecom Italia. The government is keen to execute its divestment to distance itself from the takeover battle between Olivetti and the national operator. Salvatore Cardinale, the communications minister, said the judgement on the takeover would be as rapid as possible, "given the delicate profile of the entire situation before us."

Bahrain Citibank has been appointed financial adviser by Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) which is looking to raise around $800m in syndicated loans to finance a refinery upgrade and possible expansion.

BRENDA Mills is returning to the European loan market as head of syndicated loans at ABN Amro's London offices. Mills was previously head of syndicated loans at Union Bank of Switzerland where she reigned over an successful team until her retirement in the summer of 1998.

n The Icelandic Investment Bank (FBA) has signed a Eu750m Euro-MTN programme, arranged by ABN Amro. The bank was formed early in 1998 from the merger of four government investment credit funds which were the main providers of long-term funds to Iceland's industries. It provides corporate and investment banking services, primarily to large and medium-sized companies.

* Europäische Hypothekenbank der Deutsche Bank Rating: Aaa/AAA

Chase Manhattan, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch report that general syndication of the £1.275bn that remains of the £3.625bn acquisition facility backing the $10.9bn of debt facilities raised in 1998 by Texas Utilities to fund the purchase of Eastern Group, is progressing well and that commitments are already coming in. Lead managers are offered 9bp for a commitment of £30m and managers 6p for £20m.

n Société Générale this week executed the first European weather derivative transaction arranged by a bank, as it wrote a two year collar for Soccram, a French company that supplies heating and cogeneration equipment, as well as heating fuels. SG would not reveal the amount of money involved, or the exact triggers used to determine payouts, but the essence of the transaction is that during the next two October to April periods, Soccram will be protected against mild weather that would reduce its sales.

A new housing association was created in the UK this week, as South Somerset Homes Ltd acquired a portfolio of social housing from South Somerset District Council, partly financed by a securitisation. The £67m transaction, wrapped by monoline insurer AMBAC and lead managed by Paribas, is a corporate obligation of the housing association, but is also secured on the 8,818 social housing properties and 109 shared ownership properties that South Somerset Homes is acquiring.

Vlaamse Huisvestingsmaatschappij, the social housing agency of Belgium's Flanders region, this week launched a Eu324m mortgage securitisation that marks the beginning of a complete restructuring of social housing finance in Flanders. Devised by VHM and its structuring adviser Fredell & Co, the Swedish securitisation boutique, the transaction parcels loans extended to home buyers by 11 sociale kredietvennootschappen (social credit institutions).

Ford Credit Europe, which provides finance for buyers of Ford cars, will next week launch the long awaited second issue from its Globaldrive securitisation programme, lead managed by Deutsche Bank. The Eu511m transaction will parcel German car loans - the first securitisation of the asset class since Volkswagen's two deals in 1996. It will offer some Eu490m of senior notes rated triple-A by Moody's and Standard & Poor's, with an average life of 3.9 years after a three year revolving period, and Eu20m of single-A rated bonds with a 5.1 year average life.

More broadly, how will the euro and the development of a pan-European equity market affect the UK stockmarket? What is the outlook for new issues? And what future patterns in share ownership and trading can be anticipated, at the institutional and retail levels?

But there are other changes afoot as well. Continuing consolidation in the bank industry is reducing capacity in the market -- already reduced by the withdrawal of many Japanese and other Asian lenders -- while risk awareness ampng lenders has been heightened by last year's Russian shock. In addition, banks are taking an increasingly hard-edged approach to relationship banking, particularly with regard to ancillary business. And the expanding European corporate bond market, in sterling and euros, is creating rival financing opportunities for many stalwarts of the loan market.