Four banks completed a record-breaking $9.4bn (€10.5bn) bond sale for Ford, the US automotive group, as they priced and sold the biggest ever corporate bond outside the telecoms sector.

Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse First Boston, Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney ran the books on Ford's debt offering, which was more than three times the original $3bn deal being prepared by the banks last week.