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National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (NRUCFC): Moody's Affirms CFC's Ratings; Outlook Remains Stable

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  Published in Stocks and Investing on Tuesday, November 24th 2009 at 16:14 GMT by Market Wire

HERNDON, VA--(Marketwire - November 24, 2009) - [ Moody's Investors Service ] announced today that it has affirmed the ratings of [ National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation ] (CFC) (NYSE: [ NRU ]) (NYSE: [ NRN ]) (NYSE: [ NRC ]) and maintained CFC's Stable Rating Outlook.

Moody's ratings of [ CFC ] are as follows:

-- Senior Secured Debt: A1

-- Senior Unsecured Debt: A2

-- Subordinated Debt: A3

-- Short-term Debt: Prime-1

"We are pleased that Moody's recognizes the sound financial position of CFC and its members," said CFC's CEO Sheldon C. Petersen.

In its [ news release today ] on CFC, [ Moody's ] said, "A core element of NRUC's [CFC] credit strength is the durability of its loan portfolio as the dominant secured lender to [ electric distribution cooperatives ]. Moody's views this segment as being low risk and capable of producing highly predictable cash flows due to most cooperative's monopoly position as well as the cooperative's ability to pass along most cost increases to its electric customers."

Moody's [ cited a number of factors ] driving its decision, according to CFC's CFO Steven L. Lilly. "Moody's pointed to (1) the strength of our loan portfolio; (2) our ability to weather the recent upheaval in the capital markets; and (3) the investment by the electric cooperatives in CFC over the past year through Member Capital Securities (MCS). As of today, these MCS investments by our members totaled almost $360 million, and combined with other factors have put CFC's adjusted leverage on an improved trend," Lilly said.

About CFC

[ National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation ] (CFC) is a cooperative that serves the nation's rural utility systems. With more than $20 billion in assets, CFC provides its member-owners with an assured source of market-priced capital and financial products and services. CFC can be found online at [ nrucfc.org ].

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on current reasonable assumptions, actual results and performance could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of known and unknown factors.

Factors that could cause future results to vary from current expectations include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, legislative changes, governmental monetary and fiscal policies, changes in tax policies, changes in interest rates, interest expense, demand for our loan products, changes in the quality or composition of our loan and investment portfolios, changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines, and other economic and governmental factors affecting our operations.