1.46 Three banks, all of whom were considered capable of underwriting the bond, offered to arrange the bond for a fee of 62.5 basis points. The fact that the three best bidders offered the same arrangement fee suggests that there is a standard fee for this work and that the competition did not provide any savings in this area.
1.47 Warburg Dillon Read and Deutsche Bank were shortlisted as the bond underwriters. They were considered equally capable of selling the bond and delivering a competitive bond margin. The decision to select Warburg Dillon Read was therefore based on its offer not to charge bond marketing costs, which had been estimated at £30,000.