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THE STREAM of Italian regional banks heading for the Euro-MTN market continued this week when, following Banca Popolare di Bergamo's recent signing of a Euro-MTN programme, two more Italian regional banks have established issuance facilities. Banca Popolare di Brescia has signed a $1.5bn programme arranged by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. It is one of the strongest regional banks in Italy, and was one of the first to obtain a rating, two years ago. It has recently been upgraded and is now rated Baa1/BBB+.

NEXT YEAR'S new issue calendar for international equities is growing rapidly with companies from central Europe representing a large proportion of the potential supply. The region's stockmarkets are recovering -- although more slowly than their continental European counterparts -- as investor confidence gradually returns.

Market commentary: Compiled by Jim Webber, TD Securities, London. Tel: +44 171 282 8216

BANCO Santander launched what may be the last Eurobond in pesetas with its eighth residential mortgage securitisation, lead managed by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Unlike many recent Spanish MBS, which the issuers have largely retained to use as repo collateral, Santander intends to sell the whole of Hipotebansa VIII.

THE SUPERVISORY board of Westdeutsche Landesbank met on Tuesday to consider whether to buy a large slice of Formula 1 Finance, the hybrid corporate bond/securitisation that Morgan Stanley Dean Witter has structured for motor racing company Formula One. WestLB would not comment, but market participants said the bank may buy up to $1bn of the bond, provided it receives a rating from Standard & Poor's. S&P had earlier said it would only rate $1.4bn of the intended $2bn of debt single-A. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Bernie Ecclestone, owner of Formula One, had accepted that the deal be shrunk to $1.4bn.

* Aerolineas Argentinas this week borrowed $50m from domestic and international investors in a securitisation of its future ticket sales lead managed by Citicorp Capital Markets SA. The transaction, Aerocard 2, is the second issue in a $150m programme that began with a $50m four year amortising deal led by Citicorp in May 1997. Both bonds are backed by credit card payments to the airline -- combined debt service on the two deals is covered eight times by current revenues.

The default swap premium, floating-rate note and asset swap spreads reflect compensation required for bearing default risk.

Hong Kong 'H'-share Heilongjiang Agriculture faced a second listing hearing in front of the stock exchange of Hong Kong yesterday (Thursday), but as Euroweek went to press the outcome was not known. Global co-ordinator ING Barings is thought to be planning to launch the $200m issue early in January.

THE FEDERATION of Malaysia made a rare and unexpectedly early appearance in the debt markets this week with its ¥74bn ($500m) securitisation backed by Japan's Ministry of Trade & Industry (MITI). Arranged by Nomura Securities Tokyo, the five year deal had an unusual and unique structure that posed the first test of investor responsiveness to the numerous credit enhanced and guaranteed deals likely to emerge from Asia next year.