The moribund market for corporate finance received a boost on Wednesday when Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, closed a $17bn syndicated loan, the largest in the US this year.

The deal, arranged by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup, will enable Verizon Wireless to refinance the debt it took on in June when it bought Alltel, a regional telecoms group, for $28.1bn from TPG and Goldman Sachs.