Washington, DC, April 25, 2007 – The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, rated Aaa/AAA) has issued the first global benchmark bond denominated in New Turkish Lira (“TRY”).  The TRY 500 million sized bond is a syndicated transaction lead-managed by ABN AMRO, JP Morgan and TD Securities, and the Co-Lead managers are Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, KBC, RBC and UBS.

The bond pays a coupon of 13.625% and has a maturity of 10 years, extending 5years beyond the longest outstanding Turkish Government domestic bond.  It is also the largest TRY-denominated security at this part of the maturity curve.

The selection of a 10-year maturity responds to the continued strong institutional demand for high quality credit denominated in TRY, as a growing number of investors take a longer-term view that the Turkish yield curve will converge to those of Western Europe.

As the first global benchmark denominated in TRY, this transaction reinforces the World Bank’s reputation of capital markets innovation, having acted as the first foreign institution to issue a TRY-denominated bond after the January 2005 re-decimalization.

The bond was announced in Europe’s morning and investor interest grew swiftly to a final size of TRY 925 million, almost doubling the offering’s size and allowing the transaction to be priced only six hours after opening books.  Over 30 institutional investors from North America and Europe participated in the transaction, with strong interest from pension funds in need of duration.

Summary terms and conditions for the new bond issue

Amount: TRY 500* million
Settlement date: May 9, 2007
Maturity Date: May 9, 2017
Issue / Re-offer price: 98.04%
Coupon: 13.625% annually
Denomination: TRY 1,000 and multiples thereof
Format: Global
Listing: Luxembourg
Clearing systems: Euroclear and Clearstream
ISIN: XS0299049527

*The bond was increased to TRY 750 million on August 22, 2007,  with an issue price of 95.325%.

Distribution of the Bonds

United Kingdom                           14%

Germany                                        12%

Scandinavia                                     6%

Other Europe                                 23%

North America                               45%

Investor distribution by type

Fund Managers                            26%

Financial Institutions                   20%

Official Institutions                        21%

Pension / Insurance Funds        33%

Quotes from the World Bank and the Lead Managers

 “Launched in response to an increasing amount of demand for duration in Turkish Lira, The World Bank is extremely pleased to see such a great multi-regional reception for this new offering.  The breadth and depth of institutional investor demand in the order book underscores the continued developing profile of this market with investors globally.”  Doris Herrera-Pol, World Bank Capital Markets.

 “The quality, breadth and pace of this TRY benchmark’s order book and its oversubscription emphasize The World Bank’s status as one of the very few issuers which could so successfully extend the TRY government and supranational coupon curve with this innovative Global format and issue size,”  said Clinton Orr, Global Head of Public Sector Origination, ABN AMRO.

 “The ability to issue a Turkish Lira denominated bond at the long-end of the curve and in benchmark size represents the growing appeal of the currency among a wider array of investors, globally.  By issuing 5-years longer than the current domestic government curve, the World Bank has successfully provided investors a benchmark reference point for future issuances to come,” said David G Smith, Local Markets Syndicate, JPMorgan.

"As the first ever TRY Benchmark Global bond, this deal exemplifies that the World Bank continues to be a market leader and innovator in bond issuance in emerging market currencies.  This long-dated benchmark sized TRY transaction in Global format was well received from both European and North American investors looking for duration and liquidity,” said Moti Jungreis, Global Head Currency Trading and International Fixed Income, TD Securities

The World Bank's bond products and investor presentation can be accessed through the website of the World Bank for bond investors (www.worldbank.org/debtsecurities). For a list of selected bonds issued recently by the World Bank, see: http://treasury.worldbank.org/recentissues