Getting to be a Household name

Issuer: Household International
Amount: $4 billion
Launched: May 9 1996
Arranger: Morgan Stanley

Paper traditionally symbolizes a first wedding anniversary. On May 9 it was a year since the signing of the Household International Euro-MTN programme. Paper is an apt symbol given the number of tickets that MTN dealers have been writing with the Household name on the top.

In a recent mtn Week poll, dealers voted Household the most exciting issuer of the last 12 months. "We didn't know quite what it meant," says Bruce Foster, vice-president of money and capital markets at Household in Chicago.

Foster has no reason for concern. Household has been generating excitement without issuing a string of exotic and risky structured trades. Rather, it has been the sheer frequency and consistency of its borrowing that has impressed the dealers. "Their policy of continuous posting shows a strong commitment to the market," says Phil Whitehurst...