Philippine National Bank $500 million two-tranche yankee: Salomon Brothers
In one of the most contentious deals of this year or perhaps any, Salomon Brothers took the sole lead on the reworked transaction. The original launch was postponed amid accusations that the syndicate had fallen out. The official line was that the deal was put back after thorough evaluation of all relevant market factors. It was eventually issued in two tranches, one $100 million 100-year bond and a $400 million 30-year bond. Despite the jibe from competitors - "how not to do a sovereign deal" - the bookrunner and issuer claimed it as a success. It wasn't. The original deal had generated so much bad blood between the original syndicate members that Salomon was left on its own. The 185bp launch spread was too tight and the yield has since widened to 230bp over treasuries. The reworked issue was regarded by some as a face-saving exercise, but on that score it failed.
Republic of Argentina Dm1.5 billion seven-year bond: Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, SBC
The deal suffered in comparison to issues from Brazil and Mexico, and was aggressively priced. The bookrunners argued that the maturity and Argentina's rating justified the pricing, but others suggested that competitive bidding was behind the narrow spread.