National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation Sells $500 Million of Collateral Trust Bonds

  National Rural
Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (National Rural) (NYSE: NRU)
(NYSE: NRN) (NYSE: NRC) announced today that it has closed its previously
announced underwritten public offering of a total of $500 million in
Collateral Trust Bonds: $250 million of 2.625% Collateral Trust Bonds due
2012; and $250 million of 3.875% Collateral
Trust Bonds due 2015.

"National Rural received strong interest from the investor community and we are delighted with the pricing on these bonds," said Steven Lilly, National Rural's Chief Financial Officer.

The three-year bonds priced at a spread of 125 basis points over the yield on the three-year benchmark U.S. Treasury and the six-year bonds priced at a spread of 158 basis points over the yield on the five-year benchmark U.S. Treasury. These bonds are rated A+ by Standard & Poor's Corporation, A1 by Moody's Investor Service and A by Fitch Ratings.

The net proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of short-term debt, primarily commercial paper.

"The strong interest in this offering shows the confidence that investors have in National Rural and the electric cooperative sector," said Sheldon C. Petersen, Governor and Chief Executive Officer of National Rural.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., RBS Securities Inc., UBS Securities LLC, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc., Mizuho Securities USA Inc., and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. acted as joint lead book-running managers. The senior co-managers were KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. The co-managers were Comerica Securities, Inc. and PNC Capital Markets, LLC.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

About National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation: National Rural is a cooperative that serves the nation's rural utility systems, the majority of which are electric cooperatives. With $20 billion in assets, National Rural provides its member-owners with an assured source of market-priced capital and financial products and services. National Rural can be found online at nrucfc.org.

Contact: Mike O'Brien, Vice President Corporate Communications 703-709-6709 Email Contact Andrew Don, Vice President Capital Market Relations 703-709-6869 Email Contact