PRESS RELEASE

CADES returns to the market with a very successful 3 year US$ benchmark:

5.000%, due September 15, 2009 priced at 99.888% with a yield of 4.979% offering a spread of 25bps above 3year Treasuries, this corresponds to mid-swap minus –18.75bp.

The transaction was pre-marketed overnight in Asia generating a very high level of interest before the opening of the European market. Asian investors confirmed their interest in the morning giving a very good momentum to the transaction, followed by very good quality orders from European investors. The book was comfortably oversubscribed by pricing.

A total of US$ 1.2bn orders came into the book with a very good diversity:

• Asia represented the biggest share with 66% of the order book, the Middle East 7%, Scandinavia 13%, UK 8%, Rest of Europe 6%.
• The demand was well balanced across investor types: Central Banks accounted for 63% of the total distribution, Investment Managers 12%, Insurance Companies 10%, Government Agencies 10% and Banks 5%.

This 3-year bond follows a very busy and successful summer for CADES in which a total of Eur 6bn was raised in July across 4 different benchmark transactions (a Eur 3.5bn 15yr benchmark, a US$ 1bn 5yr, a Eur1.25bn inflation-linked bond and CADES first Kangaroo deal). This is the third benchmark issue denominated in US$ for CADES this year after a 7 year transaction in March and a 5 year in July.
CADES has raised a total of Eur 12bn of long term financing since the beginning of the year, from a short and long term funding requirement of Eur 27bn.

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CADES
LIGHTEN THE DEBT – BRIGHTEN THE FUTURE