e424b3
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To prospectus dated February 16, 2006)
$5,000,000,000
Secured Medium-Term Notes (That are also Asset-Backed
Securities)
Due Between Nine Months and Thirty Years From the Date of
Issue
Issued Through and Obligations of
Principal Life Income Fundings Trusts
Secured by Funding Agreements Issued by
Principal Life Insurance Company and
Guarantees Issued by Principal Financial Group, Inc.
Principal Life: We are Principal Life Insurance Company,
an Iowa insurance company, the sponsor of the program and the
depositor and issuer of the funding agreements described below.
This prospectus supplement relates to the offering, from time to
time, through newly established separate and distinct issuing
entities in the form of the trusts described below, of one or
more series of secured medium-term notes (that are also
asset-backed securities), which we refer to in this prospectus
supplement as notes, in an aggregate principal
amount of up to $5,000,000,000 or the equivalent amount in one
or more foreign or composite currencies, less any principal
amount of notes previously issued under this program pursuant to
this prospectus supplement, our
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program issued primarily to retail investors pursuant to a
separate prospectus supplement dated the date hereof, our
secured medium-term notes retail program issued primarily to
retail investors pursuant to a separate prospectus supplement
dated the date hereof or otherwise under the accompanying
prospectus.
Issuing Entities: The applicable trust will use the net
proceeds from the offering of its series of notes to purchase a
funding agreement sold to, and deposited into, the applicable
trust, by us. Our payment obligations under the funding
agreement relating to the applicable series of notes will be
fully and unconditionally guaranteed by a guarantee issued by
Principal Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our
indirect parent (PFG).
Each trust exists for the exclusive purpose of issuing and
selling one series of notes to investors, using the net proceeds
from the sale of that series of notes to acquire a funding
agreement from us, collaterally assigning and granting a
security interest in the applicable funding agreement, and
collaterally assigning and granting a security interest in the
applicable guarantee, in favor of the indenture trustee, and
engaging in other activities necessary or incidental thereto.
The notes are obligations of the applicable issuing entity. The
notes are secured medium-term notes that are also asset-backed
securities.
You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying
prospectus and the applicable pricing supplement carefully
before you invest in the notes.
The notes: The specific terms and conditions of each
series of notes will be as set forth in a separate pricing
supplement. The notes of each series will:
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be issued by a separate and distinct trust and will be the
obligations of that issuing entity; |
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rank as secured indebtedness of the trust secured primarily by a
funding agreement issued by us; |
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unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
not be listed on any securities exchange; |
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be issued in only one class; |
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unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
have a minimum denomination of $1,000 and integral multiples in
excess thereof or other specified denominations for foreign
currencies; |
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be in book-entry or definitive form; |
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have a stated maturity of between 9 months and
30 years from the date of issue; |
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have redemption and/or repayment provisions, if applicable,
whether mandatory or at the option of the trust or the holders
of the notes; |
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represent non-recourse obligations of the trust and be paid only
from the assets of that trust; |
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represent the trusts obligations only and will not
represent obligations of, represent interests in, or be
guaranteed by, us, PFG or any of our or its affiliates; |
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provide for payment in U.S. dollars or one or more foreign
currencies; |
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bear interest at fixed or floating rates, or bear no interest at
all; |
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pay interest on each series of notes on a monthly, quarterly,
semi-annual or annual basis (unless otherwise specified in the
applicable pricing supplement); and |
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be sold to United States and foreign institutional and other
investors. |
Holders of a series of notes may look only to the trusts
rights and title in the funding agreement issued to, and
deposited into, the applicable trust by us, the related
guarantee issued by PFG and any proceeds of that funding
agreement and guarantee held in the trust and not to any other
assets or collateral held by any other trust, us or PFG.
Investing in the notes involves risks that are described in
the Risk Factors section beginning on page 2 of
the accompanying prospectus.
None of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
SEC), any state securities commission or any state
insurance commission has approved or disapproved of these
securities or determined if this prospectus supplement, the
accompanying prospectus or any pricing supplement is truthful or
complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
The trusts may sell notes to one or more of the applicable
agents referred to below (collectively, the Agents)
as principals for resale at varying or fixed offering prices or
through the applicable Agents using their reasonable efforts on
behalf of the trust.
Merrill Lynch & Co.
ABN AMRO Incorporated
Banc of America Securities LLC
Barclays Capital
Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.
BNP PARIBAS
Citigroup
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank Securities
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
JPMorgan
Lehman Brothers
Morgan Stanley
UBS Investment Bank
Wachovia Securities
The date of this prospectus supplement is February 16, 2006.
Principal®
and Principal Financial Group and
Design®
are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services,
Inc. and are used under license.
CoreNotes®
is a registered service mark of Merrill Lynch & Co.,
Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT |
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S-1 |
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S-3 |
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S-14 |
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S-39 |
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S-41 |
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S-42 |
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S-49 |
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PROSPECTUS |
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47 |
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT AND THE PRICING
SUPPLEMENTS
This document is a prospectus supplement and supplements a
prospectus which is part of the registration statement that we
and PFG have filed with the SEC. This prospectus supplement
provides you with a general description of the notes being
offered, through newly established separate and distinct trusts
and the underlying funding agreements and guarantees, and
supplements the description of the notes, the underlying funding
agreements and guarantees contained in the accompanying
prospectus. These notes may be offered from time to time,
through trusts, in one or more series of notes with a total
initial public offering price or purchase price of up to
$5,000,000,000 or the equivalent amount in one or more foreign
or composite currencies, less any principal amount of notes
previously issued under this program pursuant to this prospectus
supplement, our
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program issued primarily to retail investors pursuant to a
separate prospectus supplement dated the date hereof, our
secured medium-term notes retail program issued primarily to
retail investors pursuant to a separate prospectus supplement
dated the date hereof or otherwise under the accompanying
prospectus.
The specific terms and conditions of notes being offered and the
related funding agreement and guarantee will be contained in a
pricing supplement. A copy of that pricing supplement will be
provided to
S-1
you along with a copy of this prospectus supplement and the
accompanying prospectus. That pricing supplement also may add,
update, supplement or clarify information in this prospectus
supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should carefully
review such additional, updated, supplemental or clarifying
information contained in the pricing supplement. You should read
this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and
the pricing supplement together with the additional information
that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement
and the accompanying prospectus. That additional information is
described under the heading Incorporation of Certain
Documents by Reference beginning on page 12 of the
accompanying prospectus.
You should rely only on the information incorporated by
reference or provided in this prospectus supplement, the
accompanying prospectus and the applicable pricing supplement.
None of us, PFG, any trust or any Agent has authorized any other
person to provide you with different or additional information.
If anyone provides you with different or additional information,
you should not rely on it. None of us, PFG, any trust or any
Agent is making an offer to sell the notes in any jurisdiction
where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that
the information contained or incorporated by reference in this
prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the
applicable pricing supplement, as well as information PFG
previously filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference, is
accurate only as of its respective date. The business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects of us and PFG may
have changed since that date.
In this prospectus supplement, references to Principal
Life, we, us and our
are to Principal Life Insurance Company, an Iowa life insurance
company, references to PFG are to Principal
Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our indirect
parent company, and references to trust are to the
applicable newly established separate and distinct special
purpose common law trust, formed in a jurisdiction located in
the United States of America specified in the applicable pricing
supplement, which actually issues the applicable series of
notes. In this prospectus supplement, we refer to each series of
Secured Medium-Term Notes as a series of notes and
to Secured Medium-Term Notes in general as notes.
In this prospectus supplement, references to United States
dollars, U.S. dollars or $
are to lawful currency of the United States of America, and
references to euros are to the currency introduced
at the start of the third stage of the European economic and
monetary union pursuant to the treaty establishing the European
Community, as amended.
S-2
SUMMARY
This section summarizes the material legal and financial
terms of the notes and the underlying funding agreements and
guarantees that are described in more detail in
Description of the Notes beginning on page S-14
of this prospectus supplement, Description of the
Funding Agreements beginning on page S-41 of this
prospectus supplement, and Description of the
Guarantees beginning on page
41 of the accompanying prospectus. Final terms of any
particular series of notes and the related funding agreement and
guarantee are set at the time of sale and will be contained in a
pricing supplement relating to that series of notes and the
related funding agreement and guarantee. That pricing supplement
may add to, update, supplement or clarify the terms contained in
this summary. In addition, you should read the more detailed
information appearing elsewhere in the accompanying prospectus,
this prospectus supplement and the applicable pricing
supplement.
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The Trusts |
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Each series of notes will be issued by a newly established and
separately created common law trust. Each trust will be
established by GSS Holdings II, Inc., as trust beneficial
owner, and U.S. Bank Trust National Association, as
trustee, pursuant to a trust agreement (each, a trust
agreement). The assets and liabilities of each trust are
separate and distinct from the assets and liabilities of every
other trust, us and PFG. |
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The Sponsor and the Depositor |
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We are the sponsor of the program and a registrant as the
depositor and issuer of the funding agreements under the program. |
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The Guarantor |
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PFG is a registrant as the issuer of the guarantees that will
fully and unconditionally guarantee our payment obligations
under the funding agreements. |
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Purpose of Trusts |
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The sole purpose of each trust is to facilitate a program for
the issuance of notes to the public. Each trust may only issue
one series of notes and such notes will be issued only on the
original issue date for such notes. Each series of notes will be
secured by only one funding agreement purchased from us by the
applicable trust, the principal amount of which may not be
increased. Our payment obligations under each funding agreement
will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by PFG. The trust
will use the net proceeds received from issuing a series of
notes to acquire a funding agreement for, and to be held in, the
trust. The trust will hold the collateral described below
pertaining to the applicable series of notes to fund its
obligations under that series of notes. Notes issued by the
trust will be the direct obligations of the trust and will not
be the obligations of any other trust, us or PFG. Holders of
notes of a particular series may only look to the funding
agreement issued by us, the related guarantee issued by PFG and
any proceeds of such funding agreement and guarantee held in the
related trust for payment on their notes and not to the assets
held in any other trust or by us or PFG. |
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We and PFG are not affiliated with any trust. Neither we, PFG
nor any of our officers, directors, subsidiaries or affiliates
owns any beneficial interest in any trust nor has any of these
persons or entities entered into any agreement with any trust
other than in furtherance of the issuance of notes from time |
S-3
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to time as contemplated by this prospectus supplement and the
accompanying prospectus. |
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Neither we, PFG nor any of our officers, directors, subsidiaries
or affiliates is affiliated with the trustee, the trust
beneficial owner or the indenture trustee relating to the notes. |
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Below is a diagram showing the parties involved in the issuance
of notes by each trust. |
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We Can Issue Medium-Term Notes and
Funding Agreements Directly
to Investors |
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We are able to issue our own medium-term notes directly to
investors and do issue funding agreements directly to investors.
However, by securing each trusts notes with a funding
agreement, such trusts notes are secured by an asset that
would have a higher priority in insolvency than our unsecured
medium-term notes, if any, and may be entitled to receive a
higher investment rating from one or more nationally recognized
rating agencies than our unsecured medium-term notes. In
addition, funding agreements are very difficult to transfer and
have no active secondary market. By securing each trusts
notes with a funding agreement, investors may be able to avail
themselves of many of the benefits of our funding agreements
while benefiting from the liquidity afforded by each
trusts medium-term notes. |
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Agents |
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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, ABN
AMRO Incorporated, Banc of America Securities LLC, Barclays
Capital Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., BNP Paribas
Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse
Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman,
Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Lehman
Brothers Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, UBS
Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC. |
S-4
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Secured Medium-Term Notes Program |
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This prospectus supplement relates to notes that one or more
trusts may issue and sell to United States and foreign
institutional and other investors under our secured medium-term
notes program. |
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Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
Program |
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Included in the registration statement, of which this prospectus
supplement is a part, is another prospectus supplement relating
to notes that may be issued and sold to retail investors by
newly established trusts under the related
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program. The terms of the
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
are identical in all material respects to the terms of the notes
to be sold under this program, as described in this prospectus
supplement, except that the
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®: |
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may
not be issued as amortizing notes; |
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be denominated in U.S. dollars only; |
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will
not provide for the payment of additional amounts relating to
any required withholding under any circumstances; and |
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may
contain a survivors option, permitting optional repayment
of notes of a series of notes, subject to certain limitations,
prior to maturity, if requested, following the death of the
beneficial owner of notes of that series of notes. |
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Secured Medium-Term Notes
Retail Program |
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Included in the registration statement, of which this prospectus
supplement is a part, is another prospectus supplement relating
to notes that may be issued and sold to retail investors by
newly established trusts under the related secured medium-term
notes retail program. The terms of the secured medium-term notes
retail program are identical in all material respects to the
terms of the notes to be sold under this program, as described
in this prospectus supplement, except that the secured
medium-term retail notes: |
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may
not be issued as amortizing notes; |
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will
be denominated in U.S. dollars only; |
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will
not provide for the payment of additional amounts relating to
any required withholding under any circumstances; and |
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may
contain a survivors option, permitting optional repayment
of notes of a series of notes, subject to certain limitations,
prior to maturity, if requested, following the death of the
beneficial owner of notes of that series of notes. |
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Amount |
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The trusts may collectively issue up to a maximum aggregate
principal amount of $5,000,000,000 of notes, or the equivalent
in one or more foreign or composite currencies, in connection
with this prospectus supplement, less any principal amount of |
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notes previously issued under this program pursuant to this
prospectus supplement, our
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program pursuant to a separate prospectus supplement dated the
date hereof, our secured medium-term notes retail program
pursuant to a separate prospectus supplement dated the date
hereof or otherwise under the accompanying prospectus. |
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Flow of Funds |
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Other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of
default under the notes of a trust, amounts received by or on
behalf of the trust will be paid: |
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first,
to amounts due under the notes; and |
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second,
with respect to any remaining funds, in accordance with the
applicable trust agreement. |
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During the occurrence and continuance of an event of default
under the notes of a trust, amounts received by or on behalf of
the trust will be paid: |
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first,
to the payment of the reasonable and customary expenses and
counsel fees incurred by the indenture trustee and any other
amounts due and unpaid to the indenture trustee, in an aggregate
amount of no more than $250,000 for all notes issued under the
program, to the extent not paid pursuant to the applicable
expense and indemnity agreement; |
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second,
to amounts due under the notes; and |
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third,
with respect to any remaining funds, in accordance with the
applicable trust agreement. |
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See Description of the Notes Application of
Money Collected Under the Indenture in the accompanying
prospectus. |
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Since we and PFG are registrants, purchasers of notes may
proceed directly against us and PFG to enforce their rights
under the United States federal and state securities laws. The
right of such purchasers to proceed against us, with respect to
the applicable funding agreement, under the United States
federal and state securities laws, is no different than if we
had issued the funding agreement directly to such purchasers.
The right of such purchasers to proceed against PFG, with
respect to the applicable guarantee, under the United States
federal and state securities laws is no different than if PFG
had issued the guarantee directly to such purchasers. |
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Terms of the Notes:
Status |
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Each
series of notes will be the unconditional, direct, non-recourse,
secured and unsubordinated obligations of the applicable trust.
Each series of notes will be secured by the collateral relating
to that series of notes. |
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Each
series of notes may be accelerated in the payment of principal
and outstanding interest if an event of default under the notes
occurs. Upon the occurrence of an event of default, the
indenture trustee (described below), on behalf of the holders of
such notes, may only proceed against the collateral held in the
related trust. |
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The
notes of each series are not, and will not be, obligations of,
or guaranteed by, us or any other insurance company or any
affiliate of ours, including PFG. The notes will not benefit
from any insurance guarantee fund coverage or any similar
protection. |
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Payment
of Principal and Interest |
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Principal
and interest payments, if any, on any series of notes will be
made solely from the proceeds of a funding agreement purchased
with respect to such series of notes for, and to be held in, the
related trust and the full and unconditional guarantee issued by
PFG of our payment obligations under the relevant funding
agreement. |
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Each
series of notes may be interest bearing or non-interest bearing
as specified in the applicable pricing supplement. Each series
of notes may bear interest at either a fixed rate or a floating
rate, or a combination of fixed rates and floating rates, as
specified in the applicable pricing supplement. |
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The
principal amount of each note (other than amortizing notes) will
be payable on its stated maturity date, repayment date or
redemption date, as specified in the applicable pricing
supplement, at the corporate trust office of the paying agent,
acting in its capacity as servicer, or any other place the
relevant trust designates. |
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Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
interest, if any, on each series of notes will be payable on a
monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. |
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A
trust may issue amortizing notes that pay an amount in respect
of both interest and principal amortized over the life of the
note as specified in the applicable pricing supplement. |
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Interest
Rate |
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Each fixed rate note will bear interest from its date of issue
at the rate(s) stated in the applicable pricing supplement until
the principal is paid. Each floating rate note will bear
interest from the date of original issuance until the principal
is paid at a rate determined by reference to an interest rate or
interest rate |
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formula, which may be adjusted by a spread and/or spread
multiplier (each as more fully described under Description
of the Notes). The applicable pricing supplement will
designate one or more of the following interest rate bases along
with the index maturity for that interest rate basis: |
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the
CD Rate; |
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the
CMT Rate; |
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the
Commercial Paper Rate; |
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the
Constant Maturity Swap Rate; |
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the
Eleventh District Cost of Funds Rate; |
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the
Federal Funds Open Rate; |
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the
Federal Funds Rate; |
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LIBOR; |
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EURIBOR; |
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the
Prime Rate; or |
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the
Treasury Rate. |
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Interest, if any, will be payable monthly, quarterly,
semi-annually or annually on each interest payment date and on
the maturity date or, if applicable, earlier redemption or
repayment, and, with respect to fixed rate notes, will be
computed on the basis of a
360-day year of twelve
30-day months, unless
otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement. |
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Maturities |
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Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
each series of notes will mature between nine months and
30 years from its date of original issuance on the last
scheduled interest payment date, as specified in the applicable
pricing supplement. |
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Redemption
and Repayment |
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A trust will redeem its series of notes if we redeem the funding
agreement securing such series of notes. Except as otherwise
specified in the accompanying prospectus, this prospectus
supplement or the applicable pricing supplement, the funding
agreement securing a series of notes will not be redeemable by
us and no series of notes will be repayable at the option of the
holder prior to their stated maturity date. Unless otherwise
specified in the applicable pricing supplement, the notes will
not be subject to any sinking fund. |
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Each trust may issue a series of notes which may be redeemed by
the issuing trust when 20% or more of the original principal
balance is outstanding. Notes that may be redeemed at a time
when 20% or more of the original principal amount of such notes
are outstanding will be designated in their title as
callable in the applicable pricing supplement. |
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Withholding Tax |
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All amounts due in respect of the notes of any series, the
related guarantee and the related funding agreement will be made
without any applicable withholding or deduction for or on
account of any present or future taxes, duties, levies,
assessments or other governmental charges of whatever nature
imposed or levied by or on behalf of any governmental authority,
unless such withholding or deduction is required by law. Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement, none
of the notes, the related guarantee or the related funding
agreement will provide for the payment of additional amounts
relating to any required withholding or deduction imposed or
levied on payments in respect of a series of notes, the related
guarantee or the related funding agreement. As a result, unless
otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement, the
risk of any such withholding or deduction, whether or not as a
result of a change in law or otherwise, will be borne by the
holders of such series of notes. |
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Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations |
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We intend to take the position, for United States federal income
tax purposes, that each trust will be disregarded and that the
notes will be treated as representing our indebtedness (the
Intended Tax Characterization). Each holder of a
note (or any beneficial interest therein), by acceptance of the
note (or beneficial interest therein), agrees to the Intended
Tax Characterization. Accordingly, holders of the notes
generally will have the same United States federal income tax
consequences from the purchase of the notes as they would have
had if they purchased a debt obligation issued directly by us.
Prospective purchasers of the notes must carefully consider the
tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of the notes
set forth under Material United States Federal Income Tax
Considerations. |
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Fees and Expenses |
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We will pay the costs and expenses incurred by a trust under the
expense and indemnity agreements with each of the indenture
trustee, the custodian, the trust beneficial owner and the
trustee (on behalf of itself and each trust formed in connection
with the issuance of a series of notes) and any additional
service provider appointed from time to time. |
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Under each expense and indemnity agreement, we will pay certain
costs and expenses relating to the offering, sale, issuance and
administration of any series of notes and certain costs,
expenses and taxes incurred by a trust and will indemnify the
indenture trustee, the custodian, the trust beneficial owner,
the trustee, each trust and additional service providers
appointed from time to time with respect to certain matters. See
Fees and Expenses in the accompanying prospectus. |
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We anticipate that the indenture trustee fees for the program
will be approximately $215 per year for each series of
notes. |
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Denominations; Currency |
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Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
the notes will be denominated in U.S. dollars and sold in
denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in
excess thereof. |
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Listing |
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Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
your series of notes will not be listed on any securities
exchange. |
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Form of Notes |
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Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
each series of notes will be issued in fully registered form and
will be initially represented by one or more book-entry notes
registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of
The Depository Trust Company, as depositary. Each book-entry
note will be held by the indenture trustee as custodian for the
depositary or its nominee. |
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Clearing Systems |
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The Depository Trust Company and/or, in relation to any series
of notes, any other clearing system as may be specified in the
applicable pricing supplement. |
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Collateral |
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The notes of any series will be secured by the right, title and
interest of the applicable trust in and to (1) the relevant
funding agreement held in that trust, (2) the related
guarantee issued by PFG to the trust fully and unconditionally
guaranteeing our payment obligations under the funding
agreement, (3) all proceeds of the funding agreement and
the guarantee and all amounts and instruments on deposit from
time to time in the related collection account, (4) all
books and records pertaining to the relevant funding agreement
and the related guarantee and (5) all rights of the trust
pertaining to the foregoing. |
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Each series of notes will be secured by the collateral held in
the applicable trust. The trust will collaterally assign and
grant a security interest in the related funding agreement and
the related guarantee in favor of the indenture trustee for the
benefit of the holders of notes of the applicable series. |
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Under the custodial agreement (the custodial
agreement) entered into among the indenture trustee,
Bankers Trust Company, N.A. (the custodian) and the
trustee (on behalf of each trust to be formed in connection with
the issuance of a series of notes), upon the collateral
assignment of and grant of security interest in the funding
agreement and the guarantee related to a series of notes of a
trust, the custodian will hold the funding agreement and the
guarantee, on behalf of the indenture trustee in the State of
Iowa. |
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Funding Agreements |
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A funding agreement is a type of insurance company product in
which the purchaser, usually an institutional investor, pays the
insurance company a deposit and, in turn, receives scheduled
payments of principal and interest. The deposit we receive on
the issuance of a funding agreement will be part of our general
account and not allocated to any of our separate accounts. Our
general account is the account which contains |
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all of our assets and liabilities other than those held in our
separate accounts. (Separate accounts are segregated accounts
which are established for certain products that we sell. A
separate account holds assets and liabilities specifically
related to one or more products and segregates these assets and
liabilities from the assets and liabilities of all other
separate accounts and the assets and liabilities of our general
account.) Since the deposit made under any funding agreement
will be part of our general account, our obligations under each
funding agreement will be the obligations of our general
account, rather than the obligations of any separate account. As
such, we will invest the proceeds from the sale of funding
agreements in a portfolio of assets which along with our other
general account assets will be used to meet our contractual
obligations under the funding agreements and our other general
account obligations. We will earn the spread differential
between the cost of our obligations under the funding agreements
and the yield on our invested assets. We may periodically,
consistent with our past practice and subject to all applicable
regulatory restrictions on our insurance operations, dividend a
portion of the spread income to PFG. |
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Each trust will use the net proceeds received from the sale of
its series of notes to purchase a funding agreement issued by
us, the terms of which will be set forth in the applicable
pricing supplement. The funding agreement will have a deposit
amount equal to the sum of the principal amount (or issue price
in the case of discount notes) of the related series of notes
and the amount of the beneficial interest in the related trust.
The rate at which the funding agreement bears interest will be
equal to the rate of interest, if any, on the related series of
notes. The funding agreement will otherwise have substantially
similar payment and other terms to the related series of notes. |
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Each funding agreement is our unsecured obligation. See
Ratings below. |
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In the event of our impairment or insolvency, the Iowa Insurance
Commissioner will be authorized and directed to commence
delinquency proceedings for the purpose of liquidating,
rehabilitating, reorganizing or conserving us pursuant to Iowa
Code Sections 507C.4, 507C.12, 507C.13, 507C.14 and
507C.16. In conducting delinquency proceedings, claims are
prioritized and an order of distribution is specified pursuant
to Iowa Code Section 507C.42. There are nine classes within
the priority scheme, with each successive class being fully
junior to the preceding class. Class 1 priority is given to
the costs and expenses of administration of the insurer during
the delinquency proceedings and Class 2 priority is given
to the claims of the insurers policyholders and guaranty
associations. We believe that, in a properly prepared and
presented case, a court applying Iowa law would conclude that
loss claims of principal and interest in respect |
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of each funding agreement would be accorded Class 2
priority under Iowa Code Section 507C.42 and paid equally
in priority with our other policyholders. See Description
of the Funding Agreements in the accompanying prospectus. |
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Iowa law would apply to our insolvency or receivership
proceedings. Investors should note, however, that the statutory
liquidation priority accorded to funding agreements under Iowa
law does not clearly apply to any additional amounts required to
be paid (if specified in the applicable pricing supplement and
related funding agreement) as may be necessary in order that the
net amounts receivable by a holder after any withholding or
deduction shall equal the respective amounts which would have
been receivable by such holder in the absence of such
withholding or deduction. Accordingly, in the event of our
insolvency or receivership, claims under a funding agreement for
such payments, if any, may not rank equally with either life
insurance policy and annuity claims or funding agreement claims,
and may rank equally with our unsecured debt obligations, which
are given Class 5 priority under Iowa Code
Section 507C.42. See Description of the Funding
Agreements in the accompanying prospectus. |
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Guarantees |
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Our payment obligations under the funding agreement issued to
each trust will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by PFG
under a guarantee issued by PFG to the trust as described in the
accompanying prospectus. Each guarantee will be an unsecured,
unsubordinated, contingent obligation of PFG. See
Description of the Guarantees in the accompanying
prospectus. |
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Ratings |
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Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable pricing supplement,
the notes will have an issue credit rating of AA from
Standard & Poors Ratings Services, a division of
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (Standard &
Poors). Standard & Poors has rated
the program AA. If Standard & Poors changes the
program rating, the new program rating will be specified in the
applicable pricing supplement. We expect the program to be rated
Aa2 by Moodys Investors Service, Inc.
(Moodys). If Moodys changes the program
rating, the new program rating will be specified in the
applicable pricing supplement. Notes of a series will be issued
under the program only in the event that, at the time of
issuance of such series of notes, at least one nationally
recognized rating agency would assign an investment grade rating
to such series of notes and the funding agreement securing such
series of notes. |
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Indenture, Indenture Trustee and
Servicer |
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Each trust will issue its series of notes to the public pursuant
to an indenture between that trust and Citibank, N.A., in its
capacity as indenture trustee. See Description of the
Notes General Indenture. The
indenture trustee will act as servicer with respect to the
program. The indenture is subject to the Trust Indenture Act of
1939, as amended. The |
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indenture trustee is not affiliated with any trust, with us or
PFG. |
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Administration of the Trusts |
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U.S. Bank Trust National Association, a national
banking association, will be each trusts sole trustee (the
trustee). The trustee will not be obligated in any
way to make payments under or in respect of the notes. The
trustee is not affiliated with us or PFG. |
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Trust Beneficial Owner |
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GSS Holdings II, Inc., a Delaware corporation, will be the
sole beneficial owner of each trust (the trust beneficial
owner). The beneficial interest of each trust: |
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will
be purchased by the trust beneficial owner for $15 (or in the
case of a trust that issues discount notes, such other amount as
corresponds to the discount on such notes), unless otherwise
specified in the applicable pricing supplement; |
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will
be issued in book-entry form only; |
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will
entitle the trust beneficial owner to receive payments in
respect thereof on the same terms as the payments to be made to
the holders of notes of the related series; and |
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will
be subordinated to the related series of notes. |
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The trust beneficial owner will receive periodic distributions
on its beneficial interest at the same rate and on the same day
that holders of notes of the related series receive interest
payments. On the maturity date of the trust beneficial
owners beneficial interest and the related series of
notes, the trust will redeem the principal amount of the related
series of notes to the holders of such notes and the principal
amount of the beneficial interest to the trust beneficial owner. |
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The trust beneficial owner is not affiliated with us or PFG. |
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Governing Law |
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The notes and each indenture will be governed by, and construed
in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York. Each
guarantee issued by PFG will be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the State of New York. The trust
agreement for the applicable trust will be governed by, and
construed in accordance with, the laws of the jurisdiction in
which it is formed. Each funding agreement will be governed by
the laws of the State of Iowa. |
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DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES
The following description of the material provisions of the
notes supplements the general description of the notes provided
in the accompanying prospectus. You should therefore review the
accompanying prospectus carefully. You should carefully review
the information in this prospectus supplement. The pricing
supplement for each offering of notes will contain the specific
information and terms and conditions for that offering. As such,
you should carefully review the information contained in the
pricing supplement, including any description of the method of
calculating interest on any note. The applicable pricing
supplement may also add, update, supplement or clarify
information contained in this prospectus supplement or the
accompanying prospectus. It is important for you to consider the
information contained in the accompanying prospectus, this
prospectus supplement, the applicable pricing supplement, the
indenture and the notes in making your investment decision.
This section describes some technical concepts and uses some
capitalized terms that are not defined in this prospectus
supplement. You should refer to the form of indenture and the
form of note certificates filed as exhibits to the registration
statement (of which this prospectus supplement and the
accompanying prospectus are a part) for the full description of
those concepts and complete definitions of these terms.
General
Each trust will issue one series of notes, subject to and
entitled to the benefits of a separate indenture between the
trust and the indenture trustee, which will adopt and
incorporate the standard indenture terms. Such notes will be
issued only on the original issue date for such notes. With
respect to a particular trust, we refer to the applicable
indenture and the standard indenture terms as the
indenture. Each series of notes will be the subject
of a pricing supplement. The indenture is subject to, and
governed by, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended.
For a description of the terms of the indenture, see
Description of the Notes beginning on page 22
of the accompanying prospectus.
At the date of this prospectus supplement, the notes offered
pursuant to this prospectus supplement are limited to an
aggregate initial public offering price or purchase price of up
to $5,000,000,000, or its equivalent in one or more foreign or
composite currencies. This amount is subject to reduction as a
result of the issuance of notes previously under this program,
our
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program, our secured medium-term notes retail program or
otherwise under the accompanying prospectus.
The notes of a series will be the trusts unconditional,
direct, non-recourse, secured and unsubordinated obligations.
Under the indenture, the funding agreement issued to and
deposited into a trust by us, in exchange for the proceeds
received by the trust from the offering of its series of notes
and trust beneficial interest, will be collaterally assigned by
the trust, and the trust will grant a security interest in the
funding agreement, to the indenture trustee for the benefit of
the holders of the related series of notes. A trust may purchase
only one funding agreement from us and the principal amount of
the funding agreement may not be increased. The trust will also
collaterally assign and grant a security interest in the
guarantee issued by PFG to the trust in favor of the indenture
trustee for the benefit of the holders of the related series of
notes. Each series of notes will be secured by a security
interest in the collateral, consisting of:
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the relevant funding agreement; |
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the related guarantee issued by PFG to the trust, which fully
and unconditionally guarantees our payment obligations under the
relevant funding agreement; |
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all proceeds of the relevant funding agreement and the relevant
guarantee and all amounts and instruments on deposit from time
to time in the related collection account; |
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all books and records pertaining to the relevant funding
agreement and the related guarantee; and |
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all of the trusts rights pertaining to the foregoing. |
Under the custodial agreement, upon the collateral assignment
and grant of security interest in the funding agreement and the
guarantee related to a series of notes of a trust, the custodian
will hold the funding agreement and the guarantee, on behalf of
the indenture trustee in the State of Iowa.
The notes of a series of a trust will rank equally among
themselves.
Notes that bear interest will either be fixed rate notes or
floating rate notes, or a combination of fixed rate and floating
rate, as specified in the applicable pricing supplement. A trust
may also issue discount notes and amortizing notes as specified
in the applicable pricing supplement.
The pricing supplement relating to the offering of a series of
notes will describe the following terms:
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the principal amount and specified currency for the note; |
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whether the note: |
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(1) is a fixed rate note, |
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(2) is a floating rate note, |
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(3) is an amortizing note, meaning that a portion or all of
the principal amount is payable prior to the stated maturity
date in accordance with a schedule or by application of a
formula, and/or |
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(4) is a discount note that does not bear any interest
currently or bears interest at a rate that is below market rates
at the time of issuance; |
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the price at which the note will be issued, which will be
expressed as a percentage of the aggregate principal amount or
face amount; |
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the original issue date on which the note will be issued; |
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the stated maturity date; |
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if the note is a fixed rate note, the rate per annum at which
the note will bear any interest and the Interest Payment Date
frequency; |
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if the note is a floating rate note, relevant terms such as: |
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(1) the Interest Rate Basis, |
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(2) the Initial Interest Rate, |
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(3) the Interest Reset Period or the Interest Reset Dates, |
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(4) the Interest Payment Dates, |
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(5) the Index Maturity, |
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(6) any Maximum Interest Rate, |
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(7) any Minimum Interest Rate, |
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(8) the Spread and/or Spread Multiplier, and |
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(9) any other terms relating to the particular method of
calculating the interest rate for the note and whether and how
the Spread and/or Spread Multiplier may be changed prior to the
stated maturity date; |
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if the note is an amortizing note, the terms for repayment prior
to the stated maturity date; |
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whether the note may be redeemed by the trust, or repaid at the
option of the holder, prior to the stated maturity date and the
terms of its redemption or repayment, provided that any such
redemption or repayment will be accompanied by the simultaneous
redemption or repayment of the relevant funding agreement; |
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any special United States federal income tax considerations
relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of the note; |
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the jurisdiction of formation of the trust; and |
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any other terms of the note provided in the accompanying
prospectus to be set forth in a pricing |
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supplement or that are otherwise consistent with the provisions
of the indenture under which the note will be issued. |
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
each series of notes will mature on a day between nine months
and 30 years from its date of original issuance on the last
scheduled interest payment date (the stated maturity
date), as specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
unless the principal of such series becomes due and payable
prior to the stated maturity date, whether, as applicable, by
the declaration of acceleration of maturity, notice of
redemption by the trust, notice of the registered holders
option to elect repayment or otherwise (we refer to the stated
maturity date or any date prior to the stated maturity date on
which the particular series of notes becomes due and payable, as
the case may be, as the maturity date with respect
to the principal of such series of notes repayable on that date).
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
the notes of a series will be denominated in, and payments of
principal, premium, if any, and/or interest, if any, in respect
thereof will be made in, United States dollars. In the
alternative, each series of notes may be denominated in, and
payments of principal, premium, if any, and/or interest, if any,
in respect thereof may be made in, a single foreign currency.
The currency in which a particular series of notes is
denominated (or, if that currency is no longer legal tender for
the payment of public and private debts in the country issuing
that currency or, in the case of the euro, in the member states
of the European Union that have adopted the single currency in
accordance with the treaty establishing the European Community,
as amended by the treaty on European Union, the currency which
is then legal tender in the related country or in the adopting
member states of the European Union, as the case may be) is
referred to as the specified currency with respect
to such series of notes.
You will be required to pay for your notes in the specified
currency. At the present time, there are limited facilities in
the United States for the conversion of United States dollars
into foreign currencies and vice versa, and commercial banks do
not generally offer non-United States dollar checking or savings
account facilities in the United States. The Agent from or
through which a foreign currency note is purchased may be
prepared to arrange for the conversion of United States dollars
into the specified currency in order to enable you to pay for
your foreign currency note, provided that you make a request to
that Agent on or prior to the fifth business day (as defined
below) preceding the date of delivery of the particular foreign
currency note, or by any other day determined by that Agent.
Each conversion will be made by an Agent on the terms and
subject to the conditions, limitations and charges as that Agent
may from time to time establish in accordance with its regular
foreign exchange practices. You will be required to bear all
costs of exchange in respect of your foreign currency note.
A trust may (if so specified in the applicable pricing
supplement), without the consent of the holders of any note,
redenominate all, but not less than all, of the notes of any
series on or after the date on which the member state of the
European Union in whose national currency such notes are
denominated has become a participant member in the third stage
of the European economic and monetary union as more fully set
out in the applicable pricing supplement.
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Form of Notes; Denominations |
Each trust will issue each note as a book-entry note represented
by one or more fully registered global securities, unless
otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement. Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement, the
minimum denominations of each note will be $1,000 and integral
multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
your series of notes will not be listed on any securities
exchange.
A trust will make payments of principal of, and premium, if any,
and interest and other amounts due and owing, if any, on
book-entry
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notes through the indenture trustee, acting in its capacity as
servicer, to the account of the depositary or its nominee. See
Book Entry Notes. In the case of
definitive notes, the trust will make payments of principal of,
and premium, if any, and interest and other amounts due and
owing, if any, on the maturity date in immediately available
funds upon presentation and surrender thereof (and, in the case
of any repayment on an optional repayment date, upon submission
of a duly completed election form if and as required by the
provisions described below) at the office or agency maintained
by the trust for this purpose in the Borough of Manhattan, The
City of New York, which is currently the paying agency office of
the indenture trustee located at 111 Wall Street,
15th Floor, Zone 3, New York, New York 10005. A trust
will make payments of interest and other amounts due and owing,
if any, on the maturity date of a definitive note to the person
to whom payment of the principal thereof and premium, if any,
thereon shall be made. A trust will make payments of interest
and other amounts due and owing, if any, on a definitive note on
any Interest Payment Date (as defined below) other than the
maturity date by check mailed to the address of the registered
holder entitled thereto appearing in the note register.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the trust will make payments of
interest and other amounts due and owing, if any, on a
definitive note on any Interest Payment Date other than the
maturity date to each registered holder of $10,000,000 (or, if
the specified currency is other than United States dollars, the
equivalent thereof in the particular specified currency) or more
in aggregate principal amount of definitive notes (whether
having identical or different terms and provisions) by wire
transfer of immediately available funds if the applicable
registered holder has delivered appropriate wire transfer
instructions in writing to the indenture trustee not less than
15 calendar days prior to the particular Interest Payment
Date. Any wire transfer instructions received by the indenture
trustee shall remain in effect until revoked by the applicable
registered holder.
Business day means any day, other than a Saturday or
Sunday, that is neither a legal holiday nor a day on which
commercial banks are authorized or required by law, regulation
or executive order to close in The City of New York; provided,
however, that, with respect to foreign currency notes, the day
must also not be a day on which commercial banks are authorized
or required by law, regulation or executive order to close in
the Principal Financial Center (as defined below) of the country
issuing the specified currency (or, if the specified currency is
the euro, the day must also be a day on which the Trans-European
Automated Real-Time Gross Settlement Express Transfer (TARGET)
System is open); provided, further, that, with respect to notes
as to which LIBOR (as defined below) is an applicable Interest
Rate Basis, the day must also be a London Banking Day, which
means a day on which commercial banks are open for business
(including dealings in the LIBOR Currency (as defined below)) in
London.
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Principal Financial Center |
Principal Financial Center means, as applicable:
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the capital city of the country issuing the specified
currency; or |
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the capital city of the country to which the LIBOR Currency
relates; |
provided, however, that with respect to United States dollars,
Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, the euro, South African
rand and Swiss francs, the Principal Financial
Center shall be The City of New York, Sydney, Toronto,
London (solely in the case of the LIBOR Currency), Johannesburg
and Zurich, respectively.
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Registration and Transfer of Notes |
Book-entry notes may be transferred or exchanged only through
the clearing systems (described below). Registration of transfer
or exchange of definitive notes will be made at the office or
agency maintained by the trust for this purpose in the Borough
of Manhattan, The City of New York, which is currently the
corporate trust office of the indenture trustee located at 111
Wall Street, 15th Floor, Zone 3, New York, New York
10005. No service charge will be imposed for any such
registration of transfer or exchange of notes, but the trust may
require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other
governmental charge that may be imposed in connection there-
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with (other than certain exchanges not involving any transfer).
Withholding Tax and Payment of Additional Amounts
All amounts due in respect of the notes will be made without any
applicable withholding or deduction for or on account of any
present or future taxes, duties, levies, assessments or other
governmental charges of whatever nature imposed or levied by or
on behalf of any governmental authority, unless such withholding
or deduction is required by law. Unless otherwise specified in
the applicable pricing supplement, the trust will not pay any
additional amounts to holders of any series of notes in respect
of any such withholding or deduction, any such withholding or
deduction will not give rise to an event of default or any
independent right or obligation to redeem the notes of such
series and each holder of a note of the applicable series will
be deemed for all purposes to have received cash in an amount
equal to the portion of such withholding or deduction that is
attributable to such holders interest in the notes as
equitably determined by the trust.
If it is specified in the applicable pricing supplement and
funding agreement that we have agreed to pay additional amounts
to the trust to reflect any required withholding or deduction
under the funding agreement and we are required, or based on an
opinion of independent legal counsel selected by us a material
probability exists that we will be required, to pay additional
amounts in respect of such withholding or deduction, pursuant to
(a) any amendment to, or change (including any announced
prospective change) in, the tax laws (or any regulations
thereunder) of the United States or any political subdivision or
taxing authority thereof or therein or (b) any amendment
to, or change in, an interpretation or application of any such
laws or regulations by any governmental authority in the United
States, which amendment or change is enacted, promulgated,
issued or announced on or after the effective date of the
applicable funding agreement, we will have the right to redeem
the affected funding agreement by giving not less than 30 and no
more than 60 days prior written notice to the trust and by
paying the trust the outstanding principal of, and accrued but
unpaid interest on, the related funding agreement or such other
amount as is specified in the applicable pricing supplement. If
we redeem the related funding agreement issued to the trust, the
related trust will redeem all of the notes of the applicable
series as provided in the indenture. See Description of
the Funding Agreements Early Redemption for Tax
Event in the accompanying prospectus.
Final European Union Withholding Tax System
On July 1, 2005, a directive adopted by the European
Council of Economics and Finance Ministers regarding the
taxation of savings income took effect. The directive provides
for the tax authorities of the European Union member states to
provide each other with details of payments of interest and
similar income made to individuals but permits Austria, Belgium
and Luxembourg instead to impose a withholding tax on the
payments concerned for a transitional period
(although it provides that no such withholding tax should be
levied where the beneficial owner of the payment authorizes an
exchange of information and/or where the beneficial owner
presents a certificate from the tax authority of the European
Union member state in which the beneficial owner is resident).
The directive does not preclude European Union member states
from levying other types of withholding tax.
For the avoidance of doubt, unless otherwise specified in the
applicable pricing supplement, no trust will pay any additional
amounts with respect to its series of notes should any deduction
or withholding on account of tax be required to be made, or be
made, pursuant to the directive.
Tax Redemption
If a tax event as to the relevant funding agreement
occurs, we will have the right to redeem the funding agreement
and, upon such redemption, the applicable trust will redeem its
series of notes in the same manner described under
Optional Redemption; Optional Repayment; No
Sinking Fund below. For further discussion of tax
event redemption, see Description of the Funding
Agreements Early Redemption for Tax Event in
the accompanying prospectus.
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Security; Non-Recourse Obligations
Each series of notes will be solely the obligations of the
related trust and will not be guaranteed by any person,
including but not limited to us, PFG, any Agent, any of our or
their affiliates or any other trust. A trusts obligations
under its series of notes will be secured by all of its rights
and title in a funding agreement issued by us, the payment
obligations of which are guaranteed by the related guarantee
issued by PFG to the trust and other rights and assets included
in the applicable collateral held in the trust.
Since we will be the sole obligor under the funding agreement
and PFG will be the sole obligor under the related guarantee,
the trusts ability to meet its obligations, and your
ability to receive payments from the trust, with respect to the
applicable series of notes, will be principally dependent upon
our ability to perform our obligations under the applicable
funding agreement held in the relevant trust and PFGs
ability to perform its obligations under the guarantee of our
payment obligations under the related funding agreement.
However, you will have no direct contractual rights against us
or PFG under the funding agreement or the guarantee,
respectively. Under the terms of the funding agreement and
related guarantee, recourse rights to us or PFG, respectively,
will belong to the trust, its successors and its permitted
assignees, but only with respect to the relevant trust. In
connection with the offering and sale of a series of notes, the
trust will collaterally assign and grant a security interest in
the relevant funding agreement for such series of notes to, and
the trust will collaterally assign and grant a security interest
in the related guarantee in favor of, the indenture trustee for
the benefit of the holders of such series of notes. Accordingly,
recourse to us under such funding agreement and to PFG under the
related guarantee will be enforceable only by the indenture
trustee as a secured party on behalf of the holders of such
series of notes, or by the holders of such series of notes by
directing the indenture trustee under the limited circumstances
described in the accompanying prospectus under Description
of the Notes Certain Rights of Holders. See
also Description of the Notes Nonrecourse
Enforcement in the accompanying prospectus.
Since we and PFG are registrants, purchasers of notes may
proceed directly against us and PFG to enforce their rights
under the United States federal and state securities laws. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against us, with respect to
the applicable funding agreement, under the United States
federal and state securities laws is no different than if we had
issued the funding agreement directly to such purchasers. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against PFG, with respect to
the applicable guarantee, under the United States federal and
state securities laws is no different than if PFG had issued the
guarantee directly to such purchasers.
Optional Redemption; Optional Repayment; No Sinking Fund
In the case of notes that are not discount notes, if an optional
redemption date is specified in the pricing supplement relating
to a series of notes, and we have redeemed the related funding
agreement in full or part, as applicable, the related trust will
redeem the series of notes secured by such funding agreement, in
full or in part as applicable, prior to the stated maturity date
of such series of notes. Such redemptions shall be made in whole
or from time to time in part in increments of $1,000 or any
other integral multiple of an authorized denomination specified
in the applicable pricing supplement (provided that any
remaining principal amount thereof shall be at least $1,000 or
other minimum authorized denomination applicable thereto), at
the applicable redemption price (as defined below), together
with unpaid interest, if any, accrued thereon to, but excluding,
the date of redemption. The trust must give written notice to
the holders of the particular series of notes to be redeemed not
more than 60 nor less than 30 calendar days prior to the date of
redemption. Redemption price, with respect to a
series of notes, means an amount equal to the initial redemption
percentage specified in the applicable pricing supplement (as
adjusted by the annual redemption percentage reduction, as
described in the pricing supplement, if applicable) multiplied
by the unpaid principal amount thereof to be redeemed. The
initial redemption percentage, if any, applicable to a series of
notes shall decline at each anniversary of the initial
redemption date by an amount equal to the applicable annual
redemption percentage reduction, if any,
S-19
until the redemption price is equal to 100% of the unpaid amount
thereof to be redeemed.
Each trust may issue a series of notes which may be redeemed by
the issuing trust when 20% or more of the original principal
balance is outstanding, which are referred to as
callable notes and will be designated in their title
as callable in the relevant pricing supplement.
Unless otherwise specified in the relevant pricing supplement,
such series of notes will otherwise be subject to the redemption
provisions described herein. For a discussion of the redemption
of discount notes, see Discount Notes.
If fewer than all of the notes are to be redeemed, DTC will
select the notes to be redeemed not more than 60 calendar days
prior to the redemption date by lot or, if the notes are not in
book-entry form, the indenture trustee will do so, in its
reasonable discretion, by lot or on a pro rata basis in
accordance with its customary procedures. If any note is
redeemed in part only, a new note in principal amount equal to
the unredeemed principal portion will be issued.
If an optional repayment right is specified in the pricing
supplement relating to a series of notes, such notes may be
subject to repayment at the option of the holders of such series
of notes on any repayment date specified in the applicable
pricing supplement. Exercise of the repayment option under the
notes by the holders will also require the applicable trust to
exercise a corresponding repayment under the applicable funding
agreement. On any such repayment date, unless otherwise
specified in the applicable pricing supplement, the notes shall
be repayable in whole or in part in increments of $1,000 at the
option of the holders thereof at a repayment price equal to 100%
of the principal amount thereof to be repaid, together with
interest thereon payable to the date of repayment. A holder of a
series of notes exercising its repayment right must submit to
the indenture trustee at its corporate trust office, or at such
other place or places of which the relevant trust has notified
such holder, the notes to be repaid together with the
option to elect repayment form attached to the notes
not more than 60 nor less than 30 calendar days prior to the
date of repayment. Exercise of such repayment right by a holder
shall be irrevocable. If a holder requests repayment in part
only, a new note in principal amount equal to the principal
portion of the notes not repaid will be issued.
None of the trusts will issue notes that may be repaid at the
option of the holders prior to the stated maturity if such
issuance would cause the relevant trust to fail to satisfy the
applicable requirements for exemption under
Rule 3a-7 under
the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and all
applicable rules, regulations and interpretations thereunder.
Only DTC may exercise a repayment option in respect of notes
issued in book-entry form. Accordingly, beneficial owners of
notes that desire to exercise their repayment option, if any,
with respect to all or any portion of such notes, must instruct
the participant through which they own their interest to direct
DTC to exercise the repayment option on their behalf by
delivering the duly completed election form to the indenture
trustee as aforesaid. In order to ensure that the election form
is received by the indenture trustee on a particular day, the
applicable beneficial owner must so instruct the participant
through which it owns its interest before such
participants deadline for accepting instructions for that
day. Participants may have different deadlines for accepting
instructions from their customers. Accordingly, a beneficial
owner should consult the participant through which it owns its
interest in the notes for the participants deadline for
receiving payment instructions. In addition, at the time such
instructions are given, each such beneficial owner will cause
such participant to transfer such beneficial owners
interest in the notes issued in book-entry form, on DTCs
records, to the indenture trustee.
No series of notes will be subject to, or entitled to the
benefit of, any sinking fund unless otherwise specified in the
applicable pricing supplement. A trust may issue amortizing
notes that pay a level amount in respect of both interest and
principal over the life of the notes, if specified in the
applicable pricing supplement. See Amortizing
Notes.
Purchase of Notes by Us
We may at any time purchase notes at any price or prices in the
open market or otherwise. Notes so purchased by us will be
surrendered to the indenture trustee for cancellation.
Concurrently with the surrender to the
S-20
indenture trustee of any note, the funding agreement related to
such note will be similarly cancelled.
If applicable, such trust will comply with the requirements of
Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the Exchange Act), and the rules
promulgated thereunder, and any other securities laws or
regulations in connection with any repurchase of the notes by us.
Interest
Each interest-bearing series of notes will bear interest from
its date of issue at the rate per annum, in the case of notes
that bear interest at fixed rates, or pursuant to the interest
rate formula, in the case of notes that bear interest at
floating rates, in each case as specified in the applicable
pricing supplement, until the principal thereof is paid or made
available for payment. The trust will make interest payments in
respect of each series of notes in an amount equal to the
interest accrued from and including the immediately preceding
interest payment date in respect of which interest has been paid
or from and including the date of issue, if no interest has been
paid, to but excluding the applicable interest payment date or
the maturity date, as the case may be (each, an interest
period).
Interest on each series of notes will be payable in arrears on
each interest payment date, to the registered holder at the
close of business on the regular interest record date (as
defined below) (except that interest, if any, due at maturity
will be paid to the person to whom the principal of the note is
paid), and on the maturity date. The first payment of interest
on any series of notes originally issued between a regular
interest record date and the related interest payment date will
be made on the interest payment date immediately following the
next succeeding regular interest record date to the registered
holder on the next succeeding regular interest record date. The
regular interest record date shall be the day that
is fifteen (15) calendar days preceding the applicable
interest payment date, whether or not a business day.
Fixed Rate Notes
In the case of each series of notes that bear interest at fixed
rates, the applicable pricing supplement will specify the fixed
interest rate per annum applicable to each note and the
frequency with which interest is payable. Interest on each
series of notes that bears interest at fixed rates will be
computed on the basis of a
360-day year of twelve
30-day months.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
the interest payment dates for fixed rate notes will be as
follows:
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Interest Payment |
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Frequency |
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Interest Payment Dates |
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Monthly
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Fifteenth day of each calendar month, beginning in the first
calendar month following the month the note was issued. |
Quarterly
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Fifteenth day of every third calendar month, beginning in the
third calendar month following the month the note was issued. |
Semi-annual
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Fifteenth day of every sixth calendar month, beginning in the
sixth calendar month following the month the note was issued. |
Annual
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Fifteenth day of every twelfth calendar month, beginning in the
twelfth calendar month following the month the note was issued. |
If any interest payment date or the maturity date of a series of
notes that bear interest at fixed rates falls on a day that is
not a business day, the applicable trust will make the required
payment of principal, premium, if any, and/or interest or other
amounts on the next succeeding business day, and no additional
interest will accrue in respect of the payment made on that next
succeeding business day.
Interest rates that each trust offers on its fixed rate notes
may differ from the rates offered by other trusts depending
upon, among other factors, the aggregate principal amount of
notes purchased in any single transaction. Notes with different
variable terms other than interest rates may also be offered by
other trusts concurrently to different investors. Other trusts
may change interest rates or formulas and other terms of notes
from time to time, but no change of terms will affect any note
any other trust has previously issued or as to which any other
trust has accepted an offer to purchase.
S-21
Floating Rate Notes
Interest on each series of notes that bears interest at floating
rates will be determined by reference to the applicable Interest
Rate Basis or Interest Rate Bases, which may, as described
below, include:
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the CD Rate; |
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the CMT Rate; |
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the Commercial Paper Rate; |
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the Constant Maturity Swap Rate; |
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the Eleventh District Cost of Funds Rate; |
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the Federal Funds Open Rate; |
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the Federal Funds Rate; |
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LIBOR; |
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EURIBOR; |
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the Prime Rate; or |
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the Treasury Rate. |
The applicable pricing supplement will specify certain terms of
the particular series of notes that bears interest at floating
rates, including:
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whether the note that bears interest at floating rates is: |
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a Regular Floating Rate Note; |
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a Floating Rate/ Fixed Rate Note; or |
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an Inverse Floating Rate Note; |
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the Fixed Rate Commencement Date, if applicable; |
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Fixed Interest Rate, if applicable; |
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Interest Rate Basis or Interest Rate Bases; |
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Initial Interest Rate, if any; |
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Interest Reset Dates; |
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Interest Payment Dates; |
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Index Maturity; |
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Maximum Interest Rate and/or Minimum Interest Rate, if any; |
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Spread and/or Spread Multiplier; or |
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if one or more of the applicable Interest Rate Bases is LIBOR,
the LIBOR Currency and LIBOR Page. |
The rate derived from the applicable Interest Rate Basis will be
determined in accordance with the related provisions below. The
interest rate in effect on each day will be based on:
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if that day is an Interest Reset Date, the rate determined as of
the Interest Determination Date (as defined below) immediately
preceding that Interest Reset Date; or |
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if that day is not an Interest Reset Date, the rate determined
as of the Interest Determination Date immediately preceding the
most recent Interest Reset Date. |
The Spread is the number of basis points (one
one-hundredth of a percentage point) specified in the applicable
pricing supplement to be added to or subtracted from the related
Interest Rate Basis or Interest Rate Bases applicable to a
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates. The
Spread Multiplier is the percentage specified in the
applicable pricing supplement of the related Interest Rate Basis
or Interest Rate Bases applicable to a series of notes that
bears interest at floating rates by which the Interest Rate
Basis or Interest Rate Bases will be multiplied to determine the
applicable interest rate. The Index Maturity is the
period to maturity of the instrument or obligation with respect
to which the related Interest Rate Basis or Interest Rate Bases
will be calculated.
Interest rates that each trust offers on its floating rate notes
may differ from the rates offered by other trusts depending
upon, among other factors, the aggregate principal amount of
notes purchased in any single transaction. Notes with different
variable terms other than interest rates may also be offered by
other trusts concurrently to different investors. Other trusts
may change interest rates or formulas and other terms of notes
from time to time, but no change of
S-22
terms will affect any note any other trust has previously issued
or as to which any other trust has accepted an offer to purchase.
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Regular Floating Rate Notes |
Unless a series of notes that bears interest at floating rates
is designated as a series of Floating Rate/ Fixed Rate Notes or
a series of Inverse Floating Rate Notes, or as having an
addendum attached or having other/additional provisions apply,
in each case relating to a different interest rate formula, such
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates will be a
series of Regular Floating Rate Notes and will bear interest at
the rate determined by reference to the applicable Interest Rate
Basis or Interest Rate Bases:
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plus or minus the applicable Spread, if any; and/or |
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multiplied by the applicable Spread Multiplier, if any. |
Commencing on the first Interest Reset Date, as specified in the
relevant pricing supplement, the rate at which interest on a
series of Regular Floating Rate Notes is payable will be reset
as of each Interest Reset Date; provided, however, that the
interest rate in effect for the period, if any, from the date of
issue to the first Interest Reset Date will be the Initial
Interest Rate.
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Floating Rate/ Fixed Rate Notes |
If a series of notes that bears interest at floating rates is
designated as a series of Floating Rate/ Fixed Rate Notes, such
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates will bear
interest at the rate determined by reference to the applicable
Interest Rate Basis or Interest Rate Bases:
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plus or minus the applicable Spread, if any; and/or |
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multiplied by the applicable Spread Multiplier, if any. |
Commencing on the first Interest Reset Date, the rate at which
interest on a series of Floating Rate/ Fixed Rate Notes is
payable will be reset as of each Interest Reset Date; provided,
however, that:
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the interest rate in effect for the period, if any, from the
date of issue to the first Interest Reset Date will be the
Initial Interest Rate, as specified in the relevant pricing
supplement; and |
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the interest rate in effect commencing on the Fixed Rate
Commencement Date will be the Fixed Interest Rate, if specified
in the applicable pricing supplement, or, if not so specified,
the interest rate in effect on the day immediately preceding the
Fixed Rate Commencement Date. |
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Inverse Floating Rate Notes |
If a series of notes that bears interest at floating rates is
designated as a series of Inverse Floating Rate Notes, such
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates will bear
interest at the Fixed Interest Rate minus the rate determined by
reference to the applicable Interest Rate Basis or Interest Rate
Bases:
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plus or minus the applicable Spread, if any; and/or |
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multiplied by the applicable Spread Multiplier, if any; |
provided, however, that interest on a series of Inverse Floating
Rate Notes will not be less than zero. Commencing on the first
Interest Reset Date, the rate at which interest on a series of
Inverse Floating Rate Notes is payable will be reset as of each
Interest Reset Date; provided, however, that the interest rate
in effect for the period, if any, from the date of issue to the
first Interest Reset Date will be the Initial Interest Rate.
The applicable pricing supplement will specify the dates on
which the rate of interest on a series of notes that bears
interest at floating rates will be reset (each, an
Interest Reset Date), and the period between
Interest Reset Dates will be the Interest Reset
Period. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable
pricing sup-
S-23
plement, the Interest Reset Dates will be, in the case of a
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates which
reset:
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daily each business day; |
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weekly the Wednesday of each week, with the
exception of weekly reset series of notes that bear interest at
floating rates as to which the Treasury Rate is an applicable
Interest Rate Basis, which will reset the Tuesday of each week; |
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monthly the fifteenth day of each calendar
month, with the exception of monthly reset series of notes that
bear interest at floating rates as to which the Eleventh
District Cost of Funds Rate is an applicable Interest Rate
Basis, which will reset on the first calendar day of the month; |
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quarterly the fifteenth day of March, June,
September and December of each year; |
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semi-annually the fifteenth day of the two
months of each year specified in the applicable pricing
supplement; and |
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annually the fifteenth day of the month of
each year specified in the applicable pricing supplement;
provided, however, that, with respect to any series of Floating
Rate/ Fixed Rate Notes, the rate of interest thereon will not
reset after the particular Fixed Rate Commencement Date. |
If any Interest Reset Date for any series of notes that bears
interest at floating rates would otherwise be a day that is not
a business day, the particular Interest Reset Date will be
postponed to the next succeeding business day, except that in
the case of a series of notes that bears interest at floating
rates as to which LIBOR is an applicable Interest Rate Basis and
that business day falls in the next succeeding calendar month,
the particular Interest Reset Date will be the immediately
preceding business day.
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Interest Determination Dates |
The interest rate applicable to a series of notes that bears
interest at floating rates for an Interest Reset Period
commencing on the related Interest Reset Date will be determined
by reference to the applicable Interest Rate Basis as of the
particular Interest Determination Date, which will
be:
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with respect to the Federal Funds Open Rate
the related Interest Reset Date; |
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with respect to the Commercial Paper Rate, the Federal Funds
Rate and the Prime Rate the business day
preceding the related Interest Reset Date; |
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with respect to the CD Rate and the CMT Rate
the second business day preceding the related Interest Reset
Date; |
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with respect to the Constant Maturity Swap
Rate the second U.S. Government Securities
business day (as defined under Constant
Maturity Swap Rate below) preceding the related Interest
Reset Date; provided, however, that if, after attempting to
determine the Constant Maturity Swap Rate (as described under
Constant Maturity Swap Rate below), such
rate is not determinable for a particular Interest Determination
Date (the original interest determination date),
then such Interest Determination Date shall be the first
U.S. Government Securities business day preceding the
original interest determination date for which the Constant
Maturity Swap Rate can be determined as described under
Constant Maturity Swap Rate below; |
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with respect to the Eleventh District Cost of Funds
Rate the last working day of the month preceding
the related Interest Reset Date on which the Federal Home
Loan Bank of San Francisco pub- |
S-24
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lishes the Eleventh District Index (as defined below); |
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with respect to LIBOR and EURIBOR the second
London Banking Day preceding the related Interest Reset
Date; and |
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with respect to the Treasury Rate the day of
the week in which the related Interest Reset Date falls on which
day Treasury Bills (as defined below) are normally auctioned
(i.e., Treasury Bills are normally sold at auction on Monday of
each week, unless that day is a legal holiday, in which case the
auction is normally held on the following Tuesday, except that
the auction may be held on the preceding Friday); provided,
however, that if an auction is held on the Friday of the week
preceding the related Interest Reset Date, the Interest
Determination Date will be the preceding Friday. |
The Interest Determination Date pertaining to a series of notes
that bears interest at floating rates the interest rate of which
is determined with reference to two or more Interest Rate Bases
will be the latest business day which is at least two business
days before the related Interest Reset Date for the applicable
note that bears interest at floating rates on which each
Interest Reset Basis is determinable.
The indenture trustee will be the Calculation Agent,
unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement.
The interest rate applicable to each Interest Reset Period will
be determined by the Calculation Agent on or prior to the
Calculation Date (as defined below), except with respect to
LIBOR, EURIBOR and the Eleventh District Cost of Funds Rate,
which will be determined on the particular Interest
Determination Date. Upon request of the registered holder of a
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates, the
Calculation Agent will disclose the interest rate then in effect
and, if determined, the interest rate that will become effective
as a result of a determination made for the next succeeding
Interest Reset Date with respect to the particular series of
notes that bears interest at floating rates. The
Calculation Date, if applicable, pertaining to any
Interest Determination Date will be the earlier of:
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the tenth calendar day after the particular Interest
Determination Date or, if such day is not a business day, the
next succeeding business day; or |
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the business day immediately preceding the applicable Interest
Payment Date or the maturity date, as the case may be. |
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Maximum and Minimum Interest Rates |
A series of notes that bears interest at floating rates may also
have either or both of the following if specified in the
applicable pricing supplement:
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a maximum numerical limitation, or ceiling, that may accrue
during any Interest Reset Period (a Maximum Interest
Rate); and |
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a minimum numerical limitation, or floor, that may accrue during
any Interest Reset Period (a Minimum Interest Rate). |
In addition to any Maximum Interest Rate that may apply to a
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates, the
interest rate on a series of notes that bears interest at
floating rates will in no event be higher than the maximum rate
permitted by New York law, as the same may be modified by United
States law of general application.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
interest on each series of notes that bears interest at floating
rates will be payable on the date(s) set forth below (each, an
Interest Payment Date with respect to such series of
notes that bears interest at floating rates). Unless otherwise
specified in the applicable pricing supplement, the Interest
Payment Dates will be, in the case of a series of notes that
bears interest at floating rates which reset:
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daily, weekly or monthly the fifteenth day of
each calendar month |
S-25
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or on the fifteenth day of March, June, September and December
of each year, as specified in the applicable pricing supplement; |
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quarterly the fifteenth day of March, June,
September and December of each year; |
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semi-annually the fifteenth day of the two
months of each year specified in the applicable pricing
supplement; and |
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annually the fifteenth day of the month of
each year specified in the applicable pricing supplement. |
In addition, the maturity date will also be an Interest Payment
Date.
If any Interest Payment Date other than the maturity date for
any series of notes that bears interest at floating rates would
otherwise be a day that is not a business day, such Interest
Payment Date will be postponed to the next succeeding business
day, except that in the case of a series of notes that bears
interest at floating rates as to which LIBOR is an applicable
Interest Rate Basis and that business day falls in the next
succeeding calendar month, the particular Interest Payment Date
will be the immediately preceding business day. If the maturity
date of a series of notes that bears interest at floating rates
falls on a day that is not a business day, the trust will make
the required payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest
or other amounts on the next succeeding business day, and no
additional interest will accrue in respect of the payment made
on that next succeeding business day.
All percentages resulting from any calculation on notes that
bear interest at floating rates will be rounded to the nearest
one hundred-thousandth of a percentage point, with five
one-millionths of a percentage point rounded upwards. For
example, 9.876545% (or .09876545) would be rounded to 9.87655%
(or .0987655). All dollar amounts used in or resulting from any
calculation on notes that bear interest at floating rates will
be rounded, in the case of United States dollars, to the nearest
cent or, in the case of a foreign currency, to the nearest unit
(with one-half cent or unit being rounded upwards).
With respect to each series of notes that bears interest at
floating rates, accrued interest is calculated by multiplying
the principal amount of such note that bears interest at
floating rates by an accrued interest factor. The accrued
interest factor is computed by adding the interest factor
calculated for each day in the particular Interest Reset Period.
The interest factor for each day will be computed by dividing
the interest rate applicable to such day by 360, in the case of
a series of notes that bears interest at floating rates as to
which the CD Rate, the Commercial Paper Rate, the Eleventh
District Cost of Funds Rate, the Federal Funds Open Rate, the
Federal Funds Rate, LIBOR, EURIBOR or the Prime Rate is an
applicable Interest Rate Basis, or by the actual number of days
in the year, in the case of a series of notes that bears
interest at floating rates as to which the CMT Rate or the
Treasury Rate is an applicable Interest Rate Basis. In the case
of a series of notes that bears interest at floating rates as to
which the Constant Maturity Swap Rate is the Interest Rate
Basis, the interest factor for each day will be computed by
dividing the number of days in the interest period by 360 (the
number of days to be calculated on the basis of a year of
360 days with twelve
30-day months (unless
(i) the last day of the interest period is the
31st day of a month but the first day of the interest
period is a day other than the 30th or 31st day of a
month, in which case the month that includes that last day shall
not be considered to be shortened to a
30-day month, or
(ii) the last day of the interest period is the last day of
the month of February, in which case the month of February shall
not be considered to be lengthened to a
30-day month)). The
interest factor for a series of notes that bears interest at
floating rates as to which the interest rate is calculated with
reference to two or more Interest Rate Bases will be calculated
in each period in the same manner as if only the applicable
Interest Rate Basis specified in the applicable pricing
supplement applied.
The Calculation Agent shall determine the rate derived from each
Interest Rate Basis in accordance with the following provisions.
S-26
CD Rate means:
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(1) the rate on the particular Interest Determination Date
for negotiable United States dollar certificates of deposit
having the Index Maturity specified in the applicable pricing
supplement as published in H.15(519) (as defined below) under
the caption CDs (secondary market); or |
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(2) if the rate referred to in clause (1) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date for negotiable United States dollar
certificates of deposit of the particular Index Maturity as
published in H.15 Daily Update (as defined below), or other
recognized electronic source used for the purpose of displaying
the applicable rate, under the caption CDs (secondary
market); or |
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(3) if the rate referred to in clause (2) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as the
arithmetic mean of the secondary market offered rates as of
10:00 A.M., New York City time, on that Interest
Determination Date, of three leading non-bank dealers in
negotiable United States dollar certificates of deposit in The
City of New York (which may include the Agents or their
affiliates) selected by the Calculation Agent for negotiable
United States dollar certificates of deposit of major United
States money market banks for negotiable United States
certificates of deposit with a remaining maturity closest to the
particular Index Maturity in an amount that is representative
for a single transaction in that market at that time; or |
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(4) if the dealers so selected by the Calculation Agent are
not quoting as mentioned in clause (3), the CD Rate in
effect on the particular Interest Determination Date. |
H.15(519) means the weekly statistical release
designated as H.15(519), or any successor publication, published
by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
H.15 Daily Update means the daily update of
H.15(519), available through the world-wide-web site of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/ H15/update, or any
successor site or publication.
CMT Rate means:
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(1) if CMT Moneyline Telerate Page 7051 is specified
in the applicable pricing supplement: |
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(a) the percentage equal to the yield for United States
Treasury securities at constant maturity having the
Index Maturity specified in the applicable pricing supplement as
published in H.15(519) under the caption Treasury Constant
Maturities, as the yield is displayed on Moneyline
Telerate (or any successor service) on page 7051 (or any
other page as may replace the specified page on that service)
(Moneyline Telerate Page 7051), for the
particular Interest Determination Date; or |
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(b) if the rate referred to in clause (a) does not so
appear on Moneyline Telerate Page 7051, the percentage
equal to the yield for United States Treasury securities at
constant maturity having the particular Index
Maturity and for the particular Interest Determination Date as
published in H.15(519) under the caption Treasury Constant
Maturities; or |
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(c) if the rate referred to in clause (b) does not so
appear in H.15(519), the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date for the period of the particular Index
Maturity as may |
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then be published by either the Federal Reserve System Board of
Governors or the United States Department of the Treasury that
the Calculation Agent determines to be comparable to the rate
which would otherwise have been published in H.15(519); or |
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(d) if the rate referred to in clause (c) is not so
published, the rate on the particular Interest Determination
Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as a yield to maturity
based on the arithmetic mean of the secondary market bid prices
at approximately 3:30 P.M., New York City time, on that
Interest Determination Date of three leading primary United
States government securities dealers in The City of New York
(which may include the Agents or their affiliates) (each, a
Reference Dealer), selected by the Calculation Agent
from five Reference Dealers selected by the Calculation Agent
and eliminating the highest quotation, or, in the event of
equality, one of the highest, and the lowest quotation or, in
the event of equality, one of the lowest, for United States
Treasury securities with an original maturity equal to the
particular Index Maturity, a remaining term to maturity no more
than one year shorter than that Index Maturity and in a
principal amount that is representative for a single transaction
in the securities in that market at that time; or |
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(e) if fewer than five but more than two of the prices
referred to in clause (d) are provided as requested, the
rate on the particular Interest Determination Date calculated by
the Calculation Agent based on the arithmetic mean of the bid
prices obtained and neither the highest nor the lowest of the
quotations shall be eliminated; or |
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(f) if fewer than three prices referred to in
clause (d) are provided as requested, the rate on the
particular Interest Determination Date calculated by the
Calculation Agent as a yield to maturity based on the arithmetic
mean of the secondary market bid prices as of approximately
3:30 P.M., New York City time, on that Interest
Determination Date of three Reference Dealers selected by the
Calculation Agent from five Reference Dealers selected by the
Calculation Agent and eliminating the highest quotation or, in
the event of equality, one of the highest and the lowest
quotation or, in the event of equality, one of the lowest, for
United States Treasury securities with an original maturity
greater than the particular Index Maturity, a remaining term to
maturity closest to that Index Maturity and in a principal
amount that is representative for a single transaction in the
securities in that market at that time; or |
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(g) if fewer than five but more than two prices referred to
in clause (f) are provided as requested, the rate on the
particular Interest Determination Date calculated by the
Calculation Agent based on the arithmetic mean of the bid prices
obtained and neither the highest nor the lowest of the
quotations will be eliminated; or |
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(h) if fewer than three prices referred to in
clause (f) are provided as requested, the CMT Rate in
effect on the particular Interest Determination Date; or |
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(2) if CMT Moneyline Telerate Page 7052 is specified
in the applicable pricing supplement: |
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(a) the percentage equal to the one-week or one-month, as
specified in the applicable pricing supplement average yield for
United States Treasury securities at constant
maturity having the Index Maturity specified in the
applicable pricing supplement as published in H.15(519) opposite
the caption Treasury Constant Maturities, as the
yield is displayed on Moneyline Telerate (or any successor
service) (on page 7052 or any other page as may replace the
specified page on that service) (Moneyline Telerate
Page 7052), for the week or month, as applicable,
ended immediately preceding the week or month, as applicable, in
which the particular Interest Determination Date falls; or |
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(b) if the rate referred to in clause (a) does not so
appear on Moneyline Telerate Page 7052, the percentage
equal to the one-week or one-month, as specified in the
applicable pricing supplement, average yield for United States
Treasury securities at constant maturity having the
particular Index Maturity and for the week or month, as
applicable, preceding the particular Interest Determination Date
as published in H.15(519) opposite the caption Treasury
Constant Maturities; or |
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(c) if the rate referred to in clause (b) does not so
appear in H.15(519), the one-week or one-month, as specified in
the applicable pricing supplement, average yield for United
States Treasury securities at constant maturity
having the particular Index Maturity as otherwise announced by
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the week or month, as
applicable, ended immediately preceding the week or month, as
applicable, in which the particular Interest Determination Date
falls; or |
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(d) if the rate referred to in clause (c) is not so
published, the rate on the particular Interest Determination
Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as a yield to maturity
based on the arithmetic mean of the secondary market bid prices
at approximately 3:30 P.M., New York City time, on that
Interest Determination Date of three Reference Dealers selected
by the Calculation Agent from five Reference Dealers selected by
the Calculation Agent and eliminating the highest quotation, or,
in the event of equality, one of the highest, and the lowest
quotation or, in the event of equality, one of the lowest, for
United States Treasury securities with an original maturity
equal to the particular Index Maturity, a remaining term to
maturity no more than one year shorter than that Index Maturity
and in a principal amount that is representative for a single
transaction in the securities in that market at that
time; or |
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(e) if fewer than five but more than two of the prices
referred to in clause (d) are provided as requested, the
rate on the particular Interest Determination Date calculated by
the Calculation Agent based on the arithmetic mean of the bid
prices obtained and neither the highest nor the lowest of the
quotations shall be eliminated; or |
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(f) if fewer than three prices referred to in
clause (d) are provided as requested, the rate on the
particular Interest |
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Determination Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as a
yield to maturity based on the arithmetic mean of the secondary
market bid prices as of approximately 3:30 P.M., New York
City time, on that Interest Determination Date of three
Reference Dealers selected by the Calculation Agent from five
Reference Dealers selected by the Calculation Agent and
eliminating the highest quotation or, in the event of equality,
one of the highest and the lowest quotation or, in the event of
equality, one of the lowest, for United States Treasury
securities with an original maturity greater than the particular
Index Maturity, a remaining term to maturity closest to that
Index Maturity and in a principal amount that is representative
for a single transaction in the securities in that market at the
time; or |
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(g) if fewer than five but more than two prices referred to
in clause (f) are provided as requested, the rate on the
particular Interest Determination Date calculated by the
Calculation Agent based on the arithmetic mean of the bid prices
obtained and neither the highest nor the lowest of the
quotations will be eliminated; or |
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(h) if fewer than three prices referred to in
clause (f) are provided as requested, the CMT Rate in
effect on that Interest Determination Date. |
If two United States Treasury securities with an original
maturity greater than the Index Maturity specified in the
applicable pricing supplement have remaining terms to maturity
equally close to the particular Index Maturity, the quotes for
the United States Treasury security with the shorter original
remaining term to maturity will be used.
Commercial Paper Rate means:
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(1) the Money Market Yield (as defined below) on the
particular Interest Determination Date of the rate for
commercial paper having the Index Maturity specified in the
applicable pricing supplement as published in H.15(519) under
the caption Commercial Paper
Nonfinancial; or |
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(2) if the rate referred to in clause (1) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the Money Market Yield of the rate on the
particular Interest Determination Date for commercial paper
having the particular Index Maturity as published in H.15 Daily
Update, or such other recognized electronic source used for the
purpose of displaying the applicable rate, under the caption
Commercial Paper Nonfinancial; or |
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(3) if the rate referred to in clause (2) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as the
Money Market Yield of the arithmetic mean of the offered rates
at approximately 11:00 A.M., New York City time, on that
Interest Determination Date of three leading dealers of United
States dollar commercial paper in The City of New York (which
may include the Agents or their affiliates) selected by the
Calculation Agent for commercial paper having the particular
Index Maturity placed for industrial issuers whose bond rating
is Aa, or the equivalent, from a nationally
recognized statistical rating organization; or |
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(4) if the dealers so selected by the Calculation Agent are
not quoting as mentioned in clause (3), the Commercial
Paper Rate in effect on the particular Interest Determination
Date. |
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Money Market Yield means a yield (expressed as a
percentage) calculated in accordance with the following formula:
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Money Market Yield =
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D × 360
360 - (D × M) |
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× 100 |
where D refers to the applicable per annum rate for
commercial paper quoted on a bank discount basis and expressed
as a decimal, and M refers to the actual number of
days in the applicable Interest Reset Period.
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Constant Maturity Swap Rate |
Constant Maturity Swap Rate means:
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(1) the rate for U.S. dollar swaps with the designated
maturity specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
expressed as a percentage, which appears on the Reuters Screen
(or any successor service) ISDAFIX1 Page as of 11:00 A.M.,
New York City time, on the particular Interest Determination
Date; or |
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(2) if the rate referred to in clause (1) does not
appear on the Reuters Screen (or any successor service) ISDAFIX1
Page by 2:00 P.M., New York City time, on such Interest
Determination Date, a percentage determined on the basis of the
mid-market semi-annual swap rate quotations provided by the
reference banks (as defined below) as of approximately
11:00 A.M., New York City time, on such Interest
Determination Date, and, for this purpose, the semi-annual swap
rate means the mean of the bid and offered rates for the
semi-annual fixed leg, calculated on a 30/360 day count
basis, of a fixed-for-floating U.S. dollar interest rate
swap transaction with a term equal to the designated maturity
specified in the applicable pricing supplement commencing on the
Interest Reset Date and in a representative amount (as defined
below) with an acknowledged dealer of good credit in the swap
market, where the floating leg, calculated on an
actual/360 day count basis, is equivalent to USD-LIBOR-BBA
with a designated maturity specified in the applicable pricing
supplement. The Calculation Agent will request the principal New
York City office of each of the reference banks to provide a
quotation of its rate. If at least three quotations are
provided, the rate for that Interest Determination Date will be
the arithmetic mean of the quotations, eliminating the highest
quotation (or, in the event of equality, one of the highest) and
the lowest quotation (or, in the event of equality, one of the
lowest); or |
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(3) if at least three quotations are not received by the
Calculation Agent as mentioned in clause (2), the Constant
Maturity Swap Rate in effect on the particular Interest
Determination Date. |
U.S. Government Securities business day means
any day except for Saturday, Sunday, or a day on which The Bond
Market Association recommends that the fixed income departments
of its members be closed for the entire day for purposes of
trading in U.S. government securities.
Representative amount means an amount that is
representative for a single transaction in the relevant market
at the relevant time.
Reference banks mean five leading swap dealers in
the New York City interbank market, selected by the Calculation
Agent, after consultation with us.
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Eleventh District Cost of Funds Rate |
Eleventh District Cost of Funds Rate means:
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(1) the rate equal to the monthly weighted average cost of
funds for the calendar month immediately preceding the month in
which the particular Interest Determination Date falls as set
forth under the caption 11th District on the
display on Moneyline Telerate (or any successor service) on
page 7058 (or any other page as may replace the specified
page on that service) (Moneyline Telerate
Page 7058) as of 11:00 A.M., San Francisco
time, on that Interest Determination Date; or |
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(2) if the rate referred to in clause (1) does not so
appear on Moneyline Telerate Page 7058, the monthly
weighted average cost of funds |
S-31
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paid by member institutions of the Eleventh Federal Home
Loan Bank District that was most recently announced (the
Eleventh District Index) by the Federal Home
Loan Bank of San Francisco as the cost of funds for
the calendar month immediately preceding that Interest
Determination Date; or |
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(3) if the Federal Home Loan Bank of
San Francisco fails to announce the Eleventh District Index
on or prior to the particular Interest Determination Date for
the calendar month immediately preceding that Interest
Determination Date, the Eleventh District Cost of Funds Rate in
effect on the particular Interest Determination Date. |
Federal Funds Open Rate means the rate set forth on
Moneyline Telerate (or any successor service) on page 5 (or
any other page as may replace the specified page on that
service) for an Interest Determination Date underneath the
caption FEDERAL FUNDS in the row titled
OPEN. If the rate is not available for an Interest
Determination Date, the rate for that Interest Determination
Date shall be the Federal Funds Rate as determined below.
Federal Funds Rate means:
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(1) the rate on the particular Interest Determination Date
for United States dollar federal funds as published in H.15(519)
under the caption Federal Funds (Effective) and
displayed on Moneyline Telerate (or any successor service) on
page 120 (or any other page as may replace the specified
page on that service) (Moneyline Telerate
Page 120); or |
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(2) if the rate referred to in clause (1) does not so
appear on Moneyline Telerate Page 120 or is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date for United States dollar federal funds as
published in H.15 Daily Update, or such other recognized
electronic source used for the purpose of displaying the
applicable rate, under the caption Federal Funds
(Effective); or |
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(3) if the rate referred to in clause (2) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as the
arithmetic mean of the rates for the last transaction in
overnight United States dollar federal funds arranged by three
leading brokers of United States dollar federal funds
transactions in The City of New York (which may include the
Agents or their affiliates), selected by the Calculation Agent
prior to 9:00 A.M., New York City time, on that Interest
Determination Date; or |
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(4) if the brokers so selected by the Calculation Agent are
not quoting as mentioned in clause (3), the Federal Funds
Rate in effect on the particular Interest Determination Date. |
LIBOR means:
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(1) if LIBOR Moneyline Telerate is specified in
the applicable pricing supplement or if neither LIBOR
Reuters nor LIBOR Moneyline Telerate is
specified in the applicable pricing supplement as the method for
calculating LIBOR, the rate for deposits in the LIBOR Currency
having the Index Maturity specified in the applicable pricing
supplement, commencing on the related Interest Reset Date, that
appears on the LIBOR Page as of 11:00 A.M., London time, on
the particular Interest Determination Date; or |
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(2) if LIBOR Reuters is specified in the
applicable pricing supplement, the arithmetic mean of the
offered rates, calculated by the Calculation Agent, or the
offered rate, if the LIBOR Page by its terms provides only for a
single rate, for deposits in the LIBOR Currency having the
particular Index Maturity, commencing on the related Interest
Reset Date, that appear or appears, as the case |
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may be, on the LIBOR Page as of 11:00 A.M., London time, on
the particular Interest Determination Date; or |
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(3) if fewer than two offered rates appear, or no rate
appears, as the case may be, on the particular Interest
Determination Date on the LIBOR Page as specified in
clause (1) or (2), as applicable, the rate calculated by
the Calculation Agent of at least two offered quotations
obtained by the Calculation Agent after requesting the principal
London offices of each of four major reference banks (which may
include affiliates of the Agents), in the London interbank
market to provide the Calculation Agent with its offered
quotation for deposits in the LIBOR Currency for the period of
the particular Index Maturity, commencing on the related
Interest Reset Date, to prime banks in the London interbank
market at approximately 11:00 A.M., London time, on that
Interest Determination Date and in a principal amount that is
representative for a single transaction in the LIBOR Currency in
that market at that time; or |
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(4) if fewer than two offered quotations referred to in
clause (3) are provided as requested, the rate calculated
by the Calculation Agent as the arithmetic mean of the rates
quoted at approximately 11:00 A.M., in the applicable
Principal Financial Center, on the particular Interest
Determination Date by three major banks (which may include
affiliates of the Agents) in that principal financial center
selected by the Calculation Agent for loans in the LIBOR
Currency to leading European banks, having the particular Index
Maturity and in a principal amount that is representative for a
single transaction in the LIBOR Currency in that market at that
time; or |
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(5) if the banks so selected by the Calculation Agent are
not quoting as mentioned in clause (4), LIBOR in effect on
the particular Interest Determination Date. |
LIBOR Currency means the currency specified in the
applicable pricing supplement as to which LIBOR shall be
calculated or, if no currency is specified in the applicable
pricing supplement, United States dollars.
LIBOR Page means either:
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if LIBOR Reuters is specified in the applicable
pricing supplement, the display on the Reuter Monitor Money
Rates Service (or any successor service) on the page specified
in the applicable pricing supplement (or any other page as may
replace that page on that service) for the purpose of displaying
the London interbank rates of major banks for the LIBOR
Currency; or |
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if LIBOR Moneyline Telerate is specified in the
applicable pricing supplement or neither LIBOR
Reuters nor LIBOR Moneyline Telerate is
specified in the applicable pricing supplement as the method for
calculating LIBOR, the display on Moneyline Telerate (or any
successor service) on the page specified in the applicable
pricing supplement (or any other page as may replace such page
on such service) for the purpose of displaying the London
interbank rates of major banks for the LIBOR Currency. |
EURIBOR means: (1) with respect to any Interest
Determination Date relating to a series of EURIBOR Notes or a
series of notes that bears interest at floating rates for which
the interest rate is determined with reference to EURIBOR (a
EURIBOR Interest Determination Date), the rate for
deposits in euros as sponsored, calculated and published jointly
by the European Banking Federation and ACI The
Financial Market Association, or any company established by the
joint sponsors for purposes of compiling and publishing those
rates, having the Index Maturity specified in the applicable
pricing supplement, commencing on the applicable Interest Reset
Date, as the rate appears on Moneyline Telerate, Inc., or any
successor service, on page 248 (or any other page as may
replace that specified page on the service) (Moneyline
Teler-
S-33
ate Page 248) as of 11:00 A.M., Brussels time,
on the applicable EURIBOR Interest Determination Date; or
(2) if such rate does not appear on Moneyline Telerate
Page 248, or is not so published by 11:00 A.M.,
Brussels time, on the applicable EURIBOR Interest Determination
Date, such rate will be calculated by the Calculation Agent and
will be the arithmetic mean of at least two quotations obtained
by the Calculation Agent after requesting the principal
Euro-zone (as defined below) offices of four major banks in the
Euro-zone interbank market to provide the Calculation Agent with
its offered quotation for deposits in euros for the period of
the Index Maturity specified in the applicable pricing
supplement, commencing on the applicable Interest Reset Date, to
prime banks in the Euro-zone interbank market at approximately
11:00 A.M., Brussels time, on the applicable EURIBOR
Interest Determination Date and in a principal amount not less
than the equivalent of $1 million in euros that is
representative for a single transaction in euro in the market at
that time; or (3) if fewer than two such quotations are so
provided, the rate on the applicable EURIBOR Interest
Determination Date will be calculated by the Calculation Agent
and will be the arithmetic mean of the rates quoted at
approximately 11:00 A.M., Brussels time, on such EURIBOR
Interest Determination Date by four major banks in the Euro-zone
for loans in euro to leading European banks, having the Index
Maturity specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
commencing on the applicable Interest Reset Date and in a
principal amount not less than the equivalent of $1 million
in euros that is representative for a single transaction in
euros in the market at that time; or (4) if the banks so
selected by the Calculation Agent are not quoting as mentioned
above, EURIBOR will be EURIBOR in effect on the applicable
EURIBOR Interest Determination Date.
Euro-zone means the region comprised of member
states of the European Union that have adopted the single
currency in accordance with the treaty establishing the European
Community, as amended by the treaty on European Union.
Prime Rate means:
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(1) the rate on the particular Interest Determination Date
as published in H.15(519) under the caption Bank Prime
Loan; or |
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(2) if the rate referred to in clause (1) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date as published in H.15 Daily Update, or such
other recognized electronic source used for the purpose of
displaying the applicable rate, under the caption Bank
Prime Loan; or |
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(3) if the rate referred to in clause (2) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as the
arithmetic mean of the rates of interest publicly announced by
each bank that appears on the Reuters Screen US PRIME 1 Page (as
defined below) as the applicable banks prime rate or base
lending rate as of 11:00 A.M., New York City time, on that
Interest Determination Date; or |
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(4) if fewer than four rates referred to in clause (3)
are so published by 3:00 p.m., New York City time, on the
related Calculation Date, the rate calculated by the Calculation
Agent as the particular Interest Determination Date calculated
by the Calculation Agent as the arithmetic mean of the prime
rates or base lending rates quoted on the basis of the actual
number of days in the year divided by a
360-day year as of the
close of business on that Interest Determination Date by three
major banks (which may include affiliates of the Agents) in The
City of New York selected by the Calculation Agent; or |
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(5) if the banks so selected by the Calculation Agent are
not quoting as mentioned in clause (4), the Prime Rate |
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in effect on the particular Interest Determination Date. |
Reuters Screen US PRIME 1 Page means the display on
the Reuter Monitor Money Rates Service (or any successor
service) on the US PRIME 1 page (or any other page
as may replace that page on that service) for the purpose of
displaying prime rates or base lending rates of major United
States banks.
Treasury Rate means:
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(1) the rate from the auction held on the Treasury Rate
Interest Determination Date (the Auction) of direct
obligations of the United States (Treasury Bills)
having the Index Maturity specified in the applicable pricing
supplement under the caption INVESTMENT RATE on the
display on Moneyline Telerate (or any successor service) on
page 56 (or any other page as may replace that page on that
service) (Moneyline Telerate Page 56) or
page 57 (or any other page as may replace that page on that
service) (Moneyline Telerate Page 57); or |
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(2) if the rate referred to in clause (1) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the Bond Equivalent Yield (as defined below)
of the rate for the applicable Treasury Bills as published in
H.15 Daily Update, or another recognized electronic source used
for the purpose of displaying the applicable rate, under the
caption U.S. Government Securities/ Treasury Bills/
Auction High; or |
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(3) if the rate referred to in clause (2) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the Bond Equivalent Yield of the auction rate
of the applicable Treasury Bills as announced by the United
States Department of the Treasury; or |
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(4) if the rate referred to in clause (3) is not so
announced by the United States Department of the Treasury, or if
the Auction is not held, the Bond Equivalent Yield of the rate
on the particular Interest Determination Date of the applicable
Treasury Bills as published in H.15(519) under the caption
U.S. Government Securities/ Treasury Bills/ Secondary
Market; or |
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(5) if the rate referred to in clause (4) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date of the applicable Treasury Bills as published
in H.15 Daily Update, or another recognized electronic source
used for the purpose of displaying the applicable rate, under
the caption U.S. Government Securities/ Treasury
Bills/ Secondary Market; or |
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(6) if the rate referred to in clause (5) is not so
published by 3:00 P.M., New York City time, on the related
Calculation Date, the rate on the particular Interest
Determination Date calculated by the Calculation Agent as the
Bond Equivalent Yield of the arithmetic mean of the secondary
market bid rates, as of approximately 3:30 P.M., New York
City time, on that Interest Determination Date, of three primary
United States government securities dealers (which may include
the Agents or their affiliates) selected by the Calculation
Agent, for the issue of Treasury Bills with a remaining maturity
closest to the Index Maturity specified in the applicable
pricing supplement; or |
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(7) if the dealers so selected by the Calculation Agent are
not quoting as mentioned in clause (6), the Treasury Rate
in effect on the particular Interest Determination Date. |
Bond Equivalent Yield means a yield (expressed as a
percentage) calculated in accordance with the following formula:
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Bond Equivalent Yield =
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D × N
360 - (D × M) |
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× 100 |
where D refers to the applicable per annum rate for
Treasury Bills quoted on a bank discount basis and expressed as
a decimal, N refers to 365 or
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366, as the case may be, and M refers to the actual
number of days in the applicable Interest Reset Period.
Other/ Additional Provisions; Addendum
Any provision with respect to a series of notes, including the
specification and determination of one or more Interest Rate
Bases, the calculation of the interest rate applicable to a note
that bears interest at floating rates, the interest payment
dates, the stated maturity date, any redemption or repayment
provisions or any other term relating to the applicable notes,
may be modified and/or supplemented as specified under
Other/ Additional Provisions on the face thereof or
in an addendum relating thereof, if so specified on the face
thereof and in each case described in the applicable pricing
supplement.
Discount Notes
A trust may issue a series of notes (Discount Notes)
that has an Issue Price (as specified in the applicable pricing
supplement) that is less than the principal amount thereof by an
amount that is equal to or greater than the de minimis
amount. The de minimis amount is equal to 0.25%
multiplied by the product of the principal amount of the notes
and the number of full years to the stated maturity date. A
series of Discount Notes may not bear any interest currently or
may bear interest at a rate that is below market rates at the
time of issuance. The difference between the Issue Price of a
series of Discount Notes and par is referred to as the
Discount. In the event of redemption, repayment or
acceleration of maturity of a series of Discount Notes, the
amount payable to the holders of such series of Discount Notes
will be equal to the sum of:
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the Issue Price (increased by any accruals of Discount) and, in
the event of any redemption of such series of Discount Notes, if
applicable, multiplied by the initial redemption percentage (as
adjusted by the annual redemption percentage reduction, if
applicable); and |
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any unpaid interest accrued on such series of Discount Notes to
the maturity date. |
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
for purposes of determining the amount of Discount that has
accrued as of any date on which a redemption, repayment or
acceleration of maturity occurs for a series of Discount Notes,
a Discount will be accrued using a constant yield method. The
constant yield will be calculated using a
30-day month,
360-day year
convention, a compounding period that, except for the Initial
Period (as defined below), corresponds to the shortest period
between Interest Payment Dates for the applicable series of
Discount Notes (with ratable accruals within a compounding
period), a coupon rate equal to the initial coupon rate
applicable to the applicable series of Discount Notes and an
assumption that the maturity of such series of Discount Notes
will not be accelerated. If the period from the date of issue to
the first Interest Payment Date for a series of Discount Notes
(the Initial Period) is shorter than the compounding
period for such series of Discount Notes, a proportionate amount
of the yield for an entire compounding period will be accrued.
If the Initial Period is longer than the compounding period,
then the period will be divided into a regular compounding
period and a short period with the short period being treated as
provided in the preceding sentence. The accrual of the
applicable Discount may differ from the accrual of original
issue discount for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, certain series of Discount Notes may not be
treated as having original issue discount within the meaning of
such Code, and certain series of notes other than Discount Notes
may be treated as issued with original issue discount for United
States federal income tax purposes. See Material United
States Federal Income Tax Considerations.
Each trust may issue a series of notes which may be redeemed by
the issuing trust when 20% or more of the original principal
balance of such notes is outstanding, which are referred to as
callable notes. In the case of discount notes that
may be redeemed at a time when 20% or more of such notes are
outstanding, such notes will be designated in their title as
callable in the applicable pricing supplement.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
such series of notes will otherwise be subject to the redemption
provisions as specified under
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Optional Redemption; Optional Repayment; No
Sinking Fund.
Amortizing Notes
A trust may issue a series of notes (Amortizing
Notes) with the amount of principal thereof and interest
thereon payable in installments over their terms. Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
interest on each series of Amortizing Notes will be computed on
the basis of a 360-day
year of twelve 30-day
months. Payments with respect to a series of Amortizing Notes
will be applied first to interest due and payable thereon and
then to the reduction of the unpaid principal amount thereof.
Further information concerning additional terms and provisions
of a particular series of Amortizing Notes will be specified in
the applicable pricing supplement, including a table setting
forth repayment information for such series of Amortizing Notes.
Book-Entry Notes
We have established a depositary arrangement, on behalf of the
trusts, with DTC with respect to the book-entry notes, the terms
of which are summarized below.
All book-entry notes having the same terms will be represented
by one or more global securities. Each global security will be
deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC and will be registered in
the name of DTC or its nominee. No global security may be
transferred or exchanged except as a whole by DTC or a nominee
of DTC to DTC or to another nominee of DTC, or by DTC or another
nominee of DTC to a successor of DTC or a nominee of a successor
to DTC. So long as DTC or its nominee is the registered holder
of a global security, DTC or its nominee will be the sole owner
of the related book-entry notes represented thereby for all
purposes under the indenture. Except as otherwise provided
below, the beneficial owners of the global security or
securities represented by book-entry notes will not be entitled
to receive physical delivery of definitive notes and will not be
considered the registered holders of the book-entry notes for
any purpose under the indenture and no global security
representing book-entry notes will be exchangeable or
transferable. As a result, to exercise any rights of a
registered holder under the indenture, a beneficial owner must
rely on the procedures of DTC and, if the beneficial owner is
not a participant, on the procedures of the participant or
participants through which the beneficial owner owns its
interest. The laws of some jurisdictions require that some
purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in
definitive form. These laws may limit the ability to transfer
beneficial interests in a global security represented by
book-entry notes.
Each global security representing book-entry notes will be
exchangeable for definitive notes having the same terms in a
like aggregate principal amount only if:
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the trust notifies the indenture trustee that the trust wishes
in its sole discretion to exchange the global security for
definitive notes; |
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an event of default on the notes of that series has occurred and
has not been cured; or |
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DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a
clearing system for the global securities, or we have become
aware that it has ceased to be a clearing agency registered
under the Exchange Act and, in either case, a successor clearing
system is not appointed by us within 60 calendar days after
receiving the notice from DTC or becoming aware that DTC is no
longer registered. |
If any of these events occurs, the appropriate trust will print
and deliver definitive notes. Definitive notes issued under
these circumstances will be registered in the names of the
beneficial owners of the related global securities as provided
to the indenture trustee by the participants identified by DTC.
About the Depositary
The following is based on information furnished by DTC:
DTC will act as securities depository for the book-entry notes.
The book-entry notes will be issued as fully registered
securities in the name of Cede & Co. (DTCs
nominee) or another name requested by DTC. One fully registered
global security will be issued for each issue of a series of
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book-entry notes in the aggregate principal amount of that issue
and will be deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. If the
aggregate principal amount of any issue exceeds DTCs limit
for a single global security, then the global securities will be
issued in the form of one or more global securities having a
principal amount equal to DTCs limit and one or more
additional global securities representing any remaining
principal amount.
DTC is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New
York Banking Law, a banking organization within the
meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the Federal
Reserve System, a clearing corporation within the
meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a
clearing agency registered pursuant to the
provisions of Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended. DTC holds securities that its direct
participants deposit with it. DTC also facilitates the
settlement among direct participants of transactions in
deposited securities, such as transfers and pledges, through
electronic computerized book-entry changes in direct
participants accounts. This eliminates the need for
physical movement of securities certificates. DTCs direct
participants include securities brokers and dealers (including
the purchasing agent), banks, trust companies, clearing
corporations and other organizations. DTC is owned by a number
of its direct participants and by the New York Stock Exchange,
Inc., the American Stock Exchange LLC and the National
Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Access to DTCs
system is also available to others such as securities brokers
and dealers, banks and trust companies that clear through or
maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant,
either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and
its direct and indirect participants are on file with the SEC.
Under DTCs system, purchases of book-entry notes must be
made by or through direct participants, which will receive a
credit for the book-entry notes on DTCs records. The
ownership interest of the actual purchaser is in turn recorded
on the records of the direct and indirect participants.
Beneficial owners will not receive written confirmation from DTC
of their purchase, but are expected to receive written
confirmations providing details of the transaction, as well as
periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or
indirect participants through which they entered into the
transaction. Transfers of ownership interests in book-entry
notes are accomplished by entries made on the books of the
direct and indirect participants acting on behalf of the
beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive definitive
notes unless use of the book-entry system is discontinued as
described above.
To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities
representing the book-entry notes deposited with, or on behalf
of, DTC will be registered in the name of DTCs nominee,
Cede & Co., or any other name that DTC requests. The
deposit of global securities with, or on behalf of, DTC and
their registration in the name of Cede & Co. effect no
change in beneficial ownership. DTC has no knowledge of the
actual beneficial owners of the book-entry notes; DTCs
records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to
whose accounts the book-entry notes are credited, which may or
may not be the beneficial owners. DTCs participants are
responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of
their customers.
Conveyance of notices and other communications from DTC to
direct participants, from direct participants to indirect
participants and from direct participants and indirect
participants to beneficial owners are governed by arrangements
among them and are subject to statutory and regulatory
requirements.
Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. will consent or vote with
respect to global securities. Under its usual procedures, DTC
mails an omnibus proxy to a company as soon as possible after a
record date. The omnibus proxy assigns Cede &
Co.s consenting or voting rights to those direct
participants to whose accounts the book-entry notes are credited
on the record date (identified in a listing attached to the
omnibus proxy).
The trust will make payments on the global securities in
immediately available funds to Cede & Co. or any other
nominee named by DTC. DTCs practice is to credit direct
participants accounts on the applicable payment date in
accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTCs
records unless DTC has reason to believe that it will not
receive payment on that date. Payments by participants to
beneficial owners are governed by standing instructions and
customary practices and are subject to statutory
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and regulatory requirements. The trust and the trustee are
responsible only for making payments to DTC; DTC is responsible
for disbursing those payments to its direct participants and the
direct participants (and any indirect participants) are solely
responsible for disbursing those payments to the beneficial
owners.
Any redemption notices will be sent to Cede & Co. If
less than all of the book-entry notes having the same terms are
being redeemed, DTCs current practice is to determine by
lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in
those notes to be redeemed.
A beneficial owner must give notice of any election to have its
book-entry notes repaid through its participant to the indenture
trustee. Delivery of the book-entry notes will be effected by
causing the relevant direct participant to transfer the relevant
part of its interest in the global securities to the indenture
trustee on DTCs records.
DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities
depository at any time by giving reasonable notice to us or the
indenture trustee. If we do not obtain a successor securities
depository, the applicable trust will print and deliver
definitive notes.
We may decide to discontinue use of the system of book-entry
transfers through DTC (or a successor securities depository). If
we do so, the applicable trust will print and deliver definitive
notes.
SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO FOREIGN CURRENCY NOTES
General
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
foreign currency notes will not be sold in, or to residents of,
the country issuing the specified currency. The information set
forth in this prospectus supplement is directed to prospective
purchasers who are United States residents and, with respect to
foreign currency notes, is by necessity incomplete. We, PFG, the
trusts and the Agents disclaim any responsibility to advise
prospective purchasers who are residents of countries other than
the United States with respect to any matters that may affect
the purchase, holding or receipt of payments of principal of,
and premium, if any, and interest, if any, on, their foreign
currency notes. These purchasers should consult their own
financial and legal advisors with regard to these risks. See
Risk Factors Risk Factors Relating to the
Notes If the trust issues notes denominated in a
foreign currency, those notes are subject to exchange rate and
exchange control risks in the accompanying prospectus.
Payment of Principal, Premium, if Any, and Interest, if
Any
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
a trust is obligated to make payments of principal of, and
premium, if any, and interest, if any, on, a foreign currency
note in the specified currency. Any amounts so payable by the
trust in the specified currency will be converted by the
exchange rate agent named in the applicable pricing supplement
(the exchange rate agent) into United States dollars
for payment to the registered holders thereof unless otherwise
specified in the applicable pricing supplement or a registered
holder elects, in the manner described below, to receive these
amounts in the specified currency.
Any United States dollar amount to be received by a registered
holder of a foreign currency note will be based on the highest
bid quotation in The City of New York received by the exchange
rate agent at approximately 11:00 A.M., New York City time,
on the second business day preceding the applicable payment date
from three recognized foreign exchange dealers (one of whom may
be the exchange rate agent) selected by the exchange rate agent
and approved by the trust for the purchase by the quoting dealer
of the specified currency for United States dollars for
settlement on that payment date in the aggregate amount of the
specified currency payable to all registered holders of foreign
currency notes scheduled to receive United States dollar
payments and at which the applicable dealer commits to execute a
contract. All currency exchange costs will be borne by the
registered holders of foreign currency notes by deductions from
any payments. If three bid quotations are not
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available, payments will be made in the specified currency.
Registered holders of foreign currency notes may elect to
receive all or a specified portion of any payment of principal,
premium, if any, and/or interest, if any, in the specified
currency by submitting a written request to the indenture
trustee at its corporate trust office in The City of New York on
or prior to the applicable regular record date or at least
15 calendar days prior to the maturity date, as the case
may be. This written request may be mailed or hand delivered or
sent by cable, telex or other form of facsimile transmission.
This election will remain in effect until revoked by written
notice delivered to the indenture trustee on or prior to a
regular record date or at least 15 calendar days prior to
the maturity date, as the case may be. Registered holders of
foreign currency notes to be held in the name of a broker or
nominee should contact their broker or nominee to determine
whether and how an election to receive payments in the specified
currency may be made.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
if the specified currency is other than United States dollars, a
beneficial owner of a global security which elects to receive
payments of principal, premium, if any, and/or interest, if any,
in the specified currency must notify the participant through
which it owns its interest on or prior to the applicable record
date or at least 15 calendar days prior to the maturity
date, as the case may be, of its election. The applicable
participant must notify the depositary of its election on or
prior to the third business day after the applicable record date
or at least 12 calendar days prior to the maturity date, as
the case may be, and the depositary will notify the indenture
trustee of that election on or prior to the fifth business day
after the applicable record date or at least ten calendar days
prior the maturity date, as the case may be. If complete
instructions are received by the participant from the applicable
beneficial owner and forwarded by the participant to the
depositary, and by the depositary to the trustee, on or prior to
such dates, then the applicable beneficial owner will receive
payments in the specified currency.
A trust will make payments of the principal of, and premium, if
any, and/or interest, if any, on foreign currency notes which
are to be made in United States dollars in the manner specified
herein with respect to notes denominated in United States
dollars. See Description of the Notes
General. A trust will make payments of interest, if any,
on foreign currency notes which are to be made in the specified
currency on an Interest Payment Date other than the maturity
date by check mailed to the address of the registered holders of
their foreign currency notes as they appear in the register,
subject to the right to receive these payments by wire transfer
of immediately available funds under the circumstances described
under Description of the Notes General.
A trust will make payments of principal of, and premium, if any,
and/or interest, if any, on, foreign currency notes which are to
be made in the specified currency on the maturity date by wire
transfer of immediately available funds to an account with a
bank designed at least 15 calendar days prior to the maturity
date by the applicable registered holder, provided the
particular bank has appropriate facilities to make these
payments and the particular foreign currency note is presented
and surrendered at the office or agency maintained by the trust
for this purpose in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New
York, in time for the indenture trustee, acting in its capacity
as servicer, to make these payments in accordance with its
normal procedures.
Availability of Specified Currency
If the specified currency for foreign currency notes is not
available for any required payment of principal, premium, if
any, and/or interest, if any, due to the imposition of exchange
controls or other circumstances beyond its control, a trust will
be entitled to satisfy its obligations to the registered holders
of these foreign currency notes by making payments in United
States dollars on the basis of the market exchange rate,
computed by the exchange rate agent, on the second business day
prior to the particular payment or, if the market exchange rate
is not then available, on the basis of the most recently
available market exchange rate.
The market exchange rate for a specified currency
other than United States dollars means the noon dollar buying
rate in The City of New York for cable transfers for the
specified currency as certified for customs purposes (or, if not
so certified, as otherwise determined) by the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York.
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All determinations made by the exchange rate agent shall be at
its sole discretion and shall, in the absence of manifest error,
be conclusive for all purposes and binding on the registered
holders of the foreign currency notes.
Judgments
Under current New York law, a state court in the State of New
York would be required to render a judgment in respect of a
foreign currency note in the specified currency, and a judgment
in the specified currency would be converted into United States
dollars at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of entry of
the judgment. Accordingly, registered holders of foreign
currency notes would be subject to exchange rate fluctuations
between the date of entry of a foreign currency judgment and the
time when the amount of the foreign currency judgment is paid in
United States dollars and converted by the applicable registered
holder into the specified currency. It is not certain, however,
whether a non-New York state court would follow the same rules
and procedures with respect to conversions of foreign currency
judgments.
Each trust will indemnify the registered holder of any of its
notes against any loss incurred as a result of any judgment or
order being given or made for any amount due under the
particular note and that judgment or order requiring payment in
a currency (the judgment currency) other than the
specified currency, and as a result of any variation between:
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the rate of exchange at which the specified currency amount is
converted into the judgment currency for the purpose of that
judgment or order; and |
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the rate of exchange at which the registered holder, on the date
of payment of that judgment or order, is able to purchase the
specified currency with the amount of the judgment currency
actually received. |
DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNDING AGREEMENTS
Each trust will use the net proceeds from the issuance of a
series of notes to the public and the issuance of the trust
beneficial interest to the trust beneficial owner to purchase a
funding agreement. The funding agreement will have substantially
similar payment and other terms to the related series of notes.
The funding agreement may be interest bearing or non-interest
bearing. A funding agreement may bear interest at either a fixed
or a floating rate, or a combination of fixed and floating
rates, as specified in the applicable pricing supplement. The
calculation of the interest rate, the dates of interest and
maturity payments and such other payment terms on the funding
agreement will be determined in the same manner as described
above under Description of the Notes. An amount
equal to the funding agreement deposit plus accrued but unpaid
interest, if any, and accrued discount, if any (in the case of a
discount funding agreement) (other than an amortizing funding
agreement) will be payable on its stated maturity date, as
specified in the applicable pricing supplement. We may issue an
amortizing funding agreement that pays an amount in respect of
both interest and deposit amount over the life of the funding
agreement, if specified in the applicable pricing supplement.
The pricing supplement relating to a series of notes will
describe the following pricing terms of the related funding
agreement:
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the deposit amount and the specified currency for the funding
agreement; |
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whether the funding agreement: |
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(1) is a fixed rate funding agreement, |
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(2) is a floating rate funding agreement, |
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(3) is an amortizing funding agreement, meaning that a
portion or all of the deposit amount is payable prior to the
stated maturity in accordance with a schedule or by application
of a formula, and/or |
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(4) is a discount funding agreement that does not bear
interest currently or bears interest at a rate that is below
market rates at the effective date; |
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the price at which the funding agreement will be issued, which
will be expressed as a percentage of the aggregate deposit
amount or face amount; |
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the effective date on which the funding agreement will be issued; |
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the stated maturity date; |
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if the funding agreement is a fixed rate funding agreement, the
rate per annum at which the funding agreement will bear any
interest and the interest payment date frequency; |
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if the funding agreement is a floating rate funding agreement,
relevant terms such as: |
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(1) the interest rate basis, |
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(2) the initial interest rate, |
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(3) the interest reset period or the interest reset dates, |
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(4) the interest payment dates, |
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(5) the index maturity, |
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(6) any maximum interest rate, |
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(7) any minimum interest rate, |
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(8) the spread and/or spread multiplier, and |
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(9) any other terms relating to the particular method of
calculating the interest rate for the funding agreement and
whether and how the spread and/or spread multiplier may be
changed prior to stated maturity; |
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if the funding agreement is an amortizing funding agreement, the
terms for repayment prior to the stated maturity; |
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whether the funding agreement may be redeemed by us, or repaid
at the option of the trust, prior to the stated maturity and the
terms of its redemption or repayment; provided in either case
the relevant series of notes will contain substantially the same
redemption and repayment terms and no funding agreement may be
redeemed or repaid without the simultaneous redemption or
repayment of the related series of notes; and |
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any other terms of the funding agreement. |
For a more detailed discussion of the funding agreements, see
Description of the Funding Agreements in the
accompanying prospectus.
MATERIAL UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following is a general discussion of the material United
States federal income tax considerations relating to the
purchase, ownership and disposition of the notes by initial
purchasers of the notes who purchase the notes at their issue
price (determined as set forth below) and hold the notes as
capital assets within the meaning of section 1221 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
Code). The statements set forth in the following
discussion, to the extent they constitute matters of United
States federal income tax law or legal conclusions with respect
thereto, represent the opinion of Sidley Austin LLP, special
United States income tax counsel to us. This discussion does not
address all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to
prospective purchasers in light of their particular
circumstances or to persons subject to special rules under
United States federal tax laws, such as certain financial
institutions, insurance companies, real estate investment
trusts, dealers in securities, tax-exempt entities, certain
former citizens or residents of the United States, persons who
hold the notes as part of a straddle,
hedging, conversion or other integrated
transaction, persons who mark their securities to market for
United States federal income tax purposes or persons whose
functional currency (as defined in section 985 of the Code)
is not the U.S. dollar. In addition, this discussion does
not address the effect of any state, local or foreign tax laws
or the effect of the U.S. federal alternative minimum tax.
Accordingly, prospective purchasers are advised to consult their
own tax advisers with respect to their individual circumstances.
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This discussion is based on the Code, the Treasury Regulations
promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial
pronouncements, all as in effect on the date hereof, and all of
which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.
For purposes of the following discussion, the term
U.S. Holder means a beneficial owner of a note
who or which is, for United States federal income tax purposes,
(i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States,
(ii) a corporation created or organized in or under the
laws of the United States or of any political subdivision
thereof or (iii) an estate or trust treated as a United
States person under section 7701(a)(30) of the Code. The
term
Non-U.S. Holder
means a beneficial owner of a note other than a
U.S. Holder. For the purposes of this discussion,
U.S. Holders and
Non-U.S. Holders
shall be referred to collectively as holders.
Special rules, not discussed in this prospectus supplement or
the accompanying prospectus, may apply to persons purchasing
notes through entities treated for U.S. federal income tax
purposes as partnerships, and such persons should consult their
own tax advisors in that regard.
Classification of the Notes and the Trust
We intend to take the position, for United States federal income
tax purposes, that each trust will be disregarded and that the
notes will be treated as representing our indebtedness (the
Intended Tax Characterization). Each holder of a
note (or any beneficial interest therein), by acceptance of the
note (or beneficial interest), agrees to treat the trust with
respect to which the note was issued and the note consistently
with the Intended Tax Characterization.
Notwithstanding the Intended Tax Characterization, it is
possible that a trust could be viewed as a separate entity for
United States federal income tax purposes. Sidley Austin LLP is
of the opinion that, under current law and assuming full
compliance with the terms of the trust agreement and the
indenture (and certain other documents), and based on certain
facts and assumptions contained in such opinion, each trust will
not be classified as an association (or publicly traded
partnership) taxable as a corporation for United States federal
income tax purposes. Accordingly, whether the Intended Tax
Characterization is respected or not, each trust will not be
treated as a taxable entity for United States federal income tax
purposes. If a trust is viewed as a separate entity rather than
disregarded, each holder of a note (or any beneficial interest
therein) agrees to treat the trust as a grantor trust and the
notes as undivided ownership interests in such trust. If this
were the case, a U.S. Holder would be required to include
in income, consistent with its method of accounting, its pro
rata share of any amounts paid to the relevant trust to satisfy
expenses and would be entitled to deduct, consistent with its
method of accounting, its pro rata share of any such expenses as
provided in sections 162 and 212 of the Code. If the
U.S. Holder is an individual, trust or estate, or to the
extent the U.S. Holders income is reportable on the
income tax return of an individual, trust or estate, the
deduction for such persons share of such expenses will be
allowed only to the extent that all of such persons
miscellaneous itemized deductions, including such persons
share of the relevant trusts expenses, exceed two percent
of such persons adjusted gross income. In addition, an
individuals itemized deductions may be subject to other
limitations. Accordingly, U.S. Holders who are individuals,
or whose income is reported in whole or in part on the income
tax return of a United States citizen or resident, should
consult their tax advisers with respect to such deductions.
The remainder of this summary assumes that the Intended Tax
Characterization is correct.
U.S. Holders
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Interest and Original Issue Discount |
Each U.S. Holder of a note will include in income payments
of qualified stated interest (as described below) in
respect of such note, in accordance with such
U.S. Holders method of accounting for United States
federal income tax purposes, as ordinary interest income. In
general, if the issue price of a note, determined by the first
price at which a substantial amount of the notes of the related
series are sold (ignoring sales to bond houses, brokers or
similar persons or organizations acting in the capacity of
underwriters, placement agents or wholesalers), is less than the
stated redemption price at maturity (as described
below) of such note by an amount equal to or more than a de
minimis amount, a
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U.S. Holder will be considered to have purchased such note
with original issue discount (OID). In general, the
de minimis amount is equal to
1/4
of one percent of the stated redemption price at maturity
multiplied by the weighted average number of complete years to
maturity from the issue date of such note. If a U.S. Holder
acquires a note with OID, then regardless of such
U.S. Holders method of accounting, such
U.S. Holder will be required to accrue its pro rata share
of OID on such note on a constant-yield basis and include such
accruals in gross income, whether or not such U.S. Holder
has received any cash payment on the notes. Any amount not
treated as OID because it is less than the de minimis
amount generally must be included in income (generally as
gain from the sale of notes) as principal payments are received
in the proportion that each such payment bears to the original
principal amount of the note. Special rules apply to notes with
a fixed maturity of one year or less. See
Short Term Notes.
Stated redemption price at maturity means the sum of
all payments to be made on a note other than payments of
qualified stated interest. Qualified stated
interest generally means stated interest that is
unconditionally payable at least annually at a single fixed rate
or, in the case of a variable rate debt instrument (as defined
below), at a single qualified floating rate or single objective
rate (as such terms are defined below). If a note is a variable
rate debt instrument but interest is payable at other than a
single qualified floating rate or a single objective rate,
special rules apply that are not discussed in this prospectus
supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
In the case of a variable rate debt instrument, the amount of
qualified stated interest and the amount of OID, if any, that
accrues during an accrual period is generally determined
assuming that the variable rate is a fixed rate equal to
(i) in the case of a qualified floating rate or qualified
inverse floating rate (each as defined below), the value, as of
the issue date, of the qualified floating rate or qualified
inverse floating rate or (ii) in the case of an objective
rate (as defined below, and other than a qualified inverse
floating rate), a fixed rate that reflects the yield that is
reasonably expected for the debt instrument, and the qualified
stated interest (or, if there is no qualified stated interest,
OID) allocable to an accrual period is increased (or decreased)
if the interest actually paid during an accrual period exceeds
(or is less than) the interest assumed to be paid during the
accrual period pursuant to clause (i) or (ii), as
applicable. Special rules apply to a variable rate debt
instrument that provides for stated interest at a fixed rate
under certain circumstances.
A variable rate debt instrument is a debt instrument
that (i) has an issue price that does not exceed the total
noncontingent principal payments by more than an amount equal to
the lesser of (a) 0.015 multiplied by the product of such
total noncontingent principal payments and the number of
complete years to maturity of the instrument (or, in the case of
a note providing for the payment of any amount other than
qualified stated interest prior to maturity, multiplied by the
weighted average maturity of the note) or
(b) 15 percent of the total noncontingent principal
payments, (ii) provides for stated interest (compounded or
paid at least annually) at the current value of (A) one or
more qualified floating rates, (B) a single fixed rate and
one or more qualified floating rates, (C) a single
objective rate or (D) a single fixed rate and a single
objective rate that is a qualified inverse floating rate, and
(iii) does not provide for any principal payments that are
contingent. The current value is the value of the rate on any
day that is no earlier than three months prior to the first day
on which that value is in effect and no later than one year
following that first day.
A qualified floating rate is generally a floating
rate under which variations in the rate can reasonably be
expected to measure contemporaneous variations in the cost of
newly borrowed funds in the currency in which a debt instrument
is denominated. A multiple of a qualified floating rate is not a
qualified floating rate unless the relevant multiplier is
(i) fixed at a number that is greater than 0.65 but not
more than 1.35 or (ii) fixed at a number that is greater
than 0.65 but not more than 1.35, increased or decreased by a
fixed rate. A variable rate is not considered a qualified
floating rate if the variable rate is subject to a cap, floor,
governor (i.e., a restriction on the amount of increase or
decrease in the stated interest rate) or similar restriction
that is reasonably expected as of the issue date to cause the
yield on the note to be significantly more or less than the
expected yield determined without the restriction (other than a
cap, floor, governor or
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similar restriction that is fixed throughout the term of the
note).
An objective rate is a rate (other than a qualified
floating rate) that is determined using a single fixed formula
and that is based on objective financial or economic
information, provided, however, that an objective rate
will not include a rate based on information that is within the
control of the issuer (or certain related parties of the issuer)
or that is unique to the circumstances of the issuer (or certain
related parties of the issuer), such as dividends, profits or
the value of the issuers stock. A qualified inverse
floating rate is an objective rate (x) that is equal
to a fixed rate minus a qualified floating rate and (y) the
variations in which can reasonably be expected to inversely
reflect contemporaneous variations in the qualified floating
rate (disregarding any caps, floors, governors or similar
restrictions that would not, as described above, cause a rate to
fail to be a qualified floating rate). Notwithstanding the first
sentence of this paragraph, a rate is not an objective rate if
it is reasonably expected that the average value of the rate
during the first half of the notes term will be either
significantly less than or significantly greater than the
average value of the rate during the final half of the
notes term. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
may designate rates other than those specified above that will
be treated as objective rates. As of the date of this prospectus
supplement, no other rates have been designated.
If interest on a note is stated at a fixed rate for an initial
period of one year or less followed by a variable rate that is
either a qualified floating rate or an objective rate for a
subsequent period, and the value of the variable rate on the
issue date is intended to approximate the fixed rate, the fixed
rate and the variable rate together constitute a single
qualified floating rate or objective rate. A fixed rate and a
variable rate will be conclusively presumed to meet the
requirements of the preceding sentence if the value of the
variable rate on the issue date does not differ from the value
of the fixed rate by more than 0.25 percentage points
(25 basis points).
If a floating rate note does not qualify as a variable rate debt
instrument or otherwise provides for contingent payments, or if
a fixed rate note provides for contingent payments, such note
may constitute a contingent payment debt instrument.
A note that is a contingent payment debt instrument is generally
taxable as follows:
First, we are required to determine, as of the issue date, the
comparable yield for the note. The comparable yield is generally
the yield at which we would issue a fixed rate debt instrument
with terms and conditions similar to those of the note
(including the level of subordination, term, timing of payments
and general market conditions, but not taking into consideration
the riskiness of the contingencies or the liquidity of the
note), but not less than the applicable federal rate announced
monthly by the IRS (the AFR). In certain cases where
a floating rate note is marketed or sold in substantial part to
tax-exempt investors or other investors for whom the prescribed
inclusion of interest is not expected to have a substantial
effect on their U.S. federal tax liability, the comparable
yield for the note, without proper evidence to the contrary, is
presumed to be the AFR.
Second, we are required to construct a projected schedule of
payments (the Schedule). The Schedule is determined
as of the issue date and generally remains in place throughout
the term of the note. The Schedule includes each noncontingent
payment and a projected payment for each contingent payment. The
Schedule must produce the comparable yield determined as set
forth above.
Third, under the usual rules applicable to OID and based on the
comparable yield, each U.S. Holder will be required to
accrue its pro rata share of OID on a constant yield basis and
include such accrual in gross income.
Fourth, appropriate adjustments are made to the OID determined
under the foregoing rules to account for any differences between
actual contingent payments and the projected payments on the
Schedule.
Differences between the actual contingent payments made to a
U.S. Holder in such U.S. Holders taxable year
and the projected payments for such taxable year are generally
aggregated and taken into account, in the case of a positive
difference, as additional interest income, or, in the case of a
negative difference, first as a reduction in OID for such year
and thereafter, subject to certain limitations, as ordinary
loss. We
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are required to provide to each holder of notes a copy of the
Schedule. Our determination of the Schedule must be used by a
U.S. Holder unless the Schedule is unreasonable and such
U.S. Holder discloses to the IRS that it is using a
different schedule. In general, any gain realized by a
U.S. Holder on the sale, exchange, retirement or other
disposition of a note that is a contingent payment debt
instrument prior to the time no contingent payments remain is
treated as interest income. In general, any loss on such a note
is treated as ordinary loss to the extent it does not exceed
such U.S. Holders prior interest inclusions on the
note (net of negative adjustments). The above described
treatment of contingent payment debt instruments assumes that
the instrument is properly treated as debt for U.S. federal
tax purposes.
If the amount paid by a U.S. Holder for a note exceeds the
stated redemption price at maturity of the note, the
U.S. Holder generally will be considered to have purchased
the note at a premium equal in amount to such excess. In this
event, the U.S. Holder may elect to amortize such premium,
generally on a constant-yield basis, as an offset to interest
income. In the case of a note that may be redeemed prior to
maturity, the premium is calculated assuming the trust and the
U.S. Holder will exercise or not exercise redemption rights
in a manner that maximizes the U.S. Holders yield. It
is unclear how premium is calculated when the redemption date or
the amount of any redemption premium is uncertain. The election
to amortize bond premium, once made, will apply to all debt
obligations held or subsequently acquired by the electing
U.S. Holder on or after the first day of the first taxable
year to which the election applies, and may not be revoked
without the consent of the IRS.
Notes that have a fixed maturity of one year or less
(Short-Term Notes) will be treated as issued with
OID. In general, an individual or other U.S. Holder that
uses the cash method of accounting is not required to accrue
such OID unless the U.S. Holder elects to do so. If such an
election is not made, any gain recognized by such
U.S. Holder on the sale, exchange, retirement or other
disposition of Short-Term Notes will be ordinary income to the
extent of the OID accrued on a straight-line basis, or upon
election under the constant yield method (based on daily
compounding), through the date of sale, exchange, retirement or
other disposition, and a portion of the deduction otherwise
allowable to such U.S. Holder for interest on borrowings
allocable to Short-Term Notes will be deferred until a
corresponding amount of income is realized. U.S. Holders
who report income for United States federal income tax purposes
under the accrual method of accounting and certain other holders
are required to accrue OID related to a Short-Term Note as
ordinary income on a straight-line basis unless an election is
made to accrue the OID under a constant yield method (based on
daily compounding).
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Sale, Exchange, Retirement or Other Disposition of
Notes |
In general, a U.S. Holder of a note will have a tax basis
in the note equal to the cost of the note to the
U.S. Holder, increased by any amount includible in income
by the U.S. Holder as OID and reduced by any amortized
premium and any payments other than payments of qualified stated
interest. Upon a sale, exchange, retirement or other disposition
of a note, a U.S. Holder will generally recognize gain or
loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the
sale, exchange, retirement or other disposition (less any amount
realized that is attributable to accrued but unpaid qualified
stated interest, which will constitute ordinary income if not
previously included in income) and the U.S. Holders
tax basis in such note. Subject to the rules described below
under Foreign Currency Notes, such gain or loss will
be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder held
the note for more than one year at the time of disposition. A
U.S. Holder that is an individual is entitled to
preferential treatment for net long-term capital gains. The
ability of a U.S. Holder to offset capital losses against
ordinary income is limited.
The following discussion generally describes special rules that
apply, in addition to the rules described above, to notes that
are denominated in, or provide for payments determined by
reference to, a currency or currency unit other than the
U.S. dollar (Foreign Currency Notes).
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The amount of qualified stated interest paid with respect to a
Foreign Currency Note that is includible in income by a
U.S. Holder that uses the cash method of accounting for
United States federal income tax purposes is the
U.S. dollar value of the amount paid, as determined on the
date of actual or constructive receipt by such U.S. Holder,
using the spot rate of exchange on such date. In the case of
qualified stated interest paid to a U.S. Holder that uses
the accrual method of accounting, and in the case of OID (other
than OID from a Short-Term Note that is not required to be
accrued) for every U.S. Holder, such U.S. Holder is
required to include the U.S. dollar value of the amount of
such interest income or OID that accrued during the accrual
period. The U.S. dollar value of such accrued interest
income or OID is generally determined by translating such income
at the average rate of exchange for the accrual period or, at
the U.S. Holders election, at the spot rate of
exchange on the last day of the accrual period. The
U.S. Holder will recognize, as ordinary income or loss,
foreign currency exchange gain or loss with respect to such
accrued interest income or OID on the date the interest or OID
is actually or constructively received, reflecting fluctuations
in currency exchange rates between the exchange rate used to
determine the accrued interest income or OID for the relevant
accrual period and the exchange rate on the date such interest
or OID is actually or constructively received.
The amount realized with respect to a sale, exchange, retirement
or other disposition of a Foreign Currency Note generally will
be the U.S. dollar value of the payment received,
determined on the date of disposition of such note (using the
spot rate on such date). Gain or loss that is recognized will be
ordinary income or loss to the extent it is attributable to
fluctuations in currency rates between the date of purchase and
the date of sale, exchange, retirement or other disposition.
Such foreign currency gain or loss will be recognized only to
the extent of the total gain or loss realized by the
U.S. Holder on the sale, exchange, retirement or other
disposition of the Foreign Currency Note. Any gain or loss
realized by a U.S. Holder in excess of such foreign
currency gain or loss generally will be capital gain or loss.
Non-U.S. Holders
Subject to the discussion below concerning backup withholding,
the following is a discussion of United States federal income
tax considerations generally applicable to
Non-U.S. Holders:
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(a) payments of principal and interest (including OID) with
respect to a note held by or for a
Non-U.S. Holder
will not be subject to withholding of United States federal
income tax, provided that, in the case of interest,
(i) such interest is not received by a bank on an extension
of credit made pursuant to a loan agreement entered in the
ordinary course of its trade or business, (ii) such
Non-U.S. Holder
does not own, actually or constructively, 10% or more of the
total combined voting power of all of our classes of stock
entitled to vote, (iii) such
Non-U.S. Holder is
not a controlled foreign corporation, within the meaning of
section 957(a) of the Code, that is related, directly or
indirectly, to us through stock ownership, (iv) such
interest is not contingent interest described in
section 871(h)(4)(A) of the Code and (v) the statement
requirement set forth in section 871(h) or
section 881(c) of the Code (described below) has been
fulfilled with respect to
such Non-U.S. Holder;
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(b) a
Non-U.S. Holder
will generally not be subject to United States federal income
tax on gain realized on the sale, exchange, retirement or other
disposition of a note, unless (i) such
Non-U.S. Holder is
an individual who is present in the United States for
183 days or more in the taxable year of such sale,
exchange, retirement or other disposition and certain other
conditions are met or (ii) such gain is effectively
connected with the conduct, by such
Non-U.S. Holder,
of a trade or business in the United States. |
Sections 871(h) and 881(c) of the Code require that, in
order to obtain the exemption from withholding of United States
federal income tax described in paragraph (a) above,
either the
Non-U.S. Holder or
a securities clearing organiza-
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tion, bank or other financial institution that holds
customers securities in the ordinary course of its trade
or business (a Financial Institution) and that is
holding the note on behalf of such
Non-U.S. Holder
must file a statement with the withholding agent to the effect
that the
Non-U.S. Holder is
not a United States person. Such requirement will be fulfilled
if the
Non-U.S. Holder
certifies on IRS Form W-8BEN (or successor form), under
penalties of perjury, that it is not a United States person and
provides its name and address, or any Financial Institution
holding the note on behalf of the
Non-U.S. Holder
files a statement with the withholding agent to the effect that
it has received such a statement from the
Non-U.S. Holder
(and furnishes the withholding agent with a copy thereof). In
addition, in the case of notes held by a foreign intermediary
(other than a qualified intermediary) or a foreign
partnership (other than a withholding foreign
partnership), the foreign intermediary or partnership, as
the case may be, generally must provide a properly executed IRS
Form W-8IMY (or successor form) and attach thereto an
appropriate certification by each foreign beneficial owner or
United States payee.
If a
Non-U.S. Holder is
engaged in a trade or business in the United States, and if
amounts treated as interest for United States federal income tax
purposes on a note or gain realized on the sale, exchange,
retirement or other disposition of a note is effectively
connected with the conduct of such trade or business, the
Non-U.S. Holder,
although exempt from the withholding of federal income tax
described in paragraph (a) above, will, unless
otherwise provided by an applicable tax treaty, generally be
subject to regular United States federal income tax on such
effectively connected income in the same manner as if it were a
U.S. Holder. In lieu of the certificate described in the
preceding paragraph, such
Non-U.S. Holder
will be required to provide a properly executed IRS
Form W-8ECI (or
successor form) to the withholding agent in order to claim an
exemption from withholding tax. In addition, if such
Non-U.S. Holder is
a foreign corporation, it may be subject to a branch profits tax
equal to 30% (or such lower rate provided by an applicable
treaty) of its effectively connected earnings and profits for
the taxable year, subject to certain adjustments.
If a
Non-U.S. Holder is
not eligible for relief under one of the exceptions described
above, it may nonetheless qualify for an exemption from, or
reduced rate of, United States withholding tax under an income
tax treaty. In general, this exemption or reduced rate of tax
applies only if the
Non-U.S. Holder
provides a properly completed IRS Form W-8BEN claiming
benefits under an applicable treaty.
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting
Backup withholding and information reporting requirements
generally apply to interest (including OID) and principal
payments made to, and to the proceeds of sales by, certain
non-corporate U.S. Holders. A U.S. Holder not
otherwise exempt from backup withholding generally can avoid
backup withholding by providing a properly-executed IRS
Form W-9 (or
successor form). In the case of a
Non-U.S. Holder,
backup withholding and information reporting will not apply to
payments on, or from the sale, exchange, retirement or other
disposition of, a note if a statement referred to in
clause (a)(v) of the first paragraph in
Non-U.S. Holders
above has been received and the payor does not have actual
knowledge that the beneficial owner is a United States person.
Withholding agents must nevertheless report to the IRS and to
each
Non-U.S. Holder
the amount of interest (including OID) paid with respect to the
notes held by each
Non-U.S. Holder
and the rate of withholding (if any) applicable to each
Non-U.S. Holder.
Non-U.S. Holders
should consult their own tax advisers regarding the application
of information reporting and backup withholding in their
particular situations, the availability of an exemption
therefrom, and the procedure for obtaining such an exemption, if
available. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding
rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against the
beneficial owners United States federal income tax
liability provided the required information is furnished to the
IRS.
European Union Directive on the Taxation of Savings Income
On July 1, 2005, a directive adopted by the European
Council of Economics and Finance
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Ministers regarding the taxation of savings income took effect.
Should any deduction or withholding on account of tax be
required to be made, or be made, in accordance with the terms of
this section, no additional amounts shall be paid or payable by
any trust or by us unless specified in the applicable pricing
supplement or funding agreement that additional amounts will be
paid. See Description of the Notes Final
European Union Withholding Tax System.
Opinion Regarding Tax Matters
Prior to the issuance of any notes, we will file with a Current
Report on Form 8-K
an unqualified opinion of legal counsel regarding the tax
treatment of such notes.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
This prospectus supplement relates to the offering of notes by
separate trusts from time to time for sale to or through Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, ABN AMRO
Incorporated, Banc of America Securities LLC, Barclays Capital
Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., BNP Paribas Securities
Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman,
Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Lehman
Brothers Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, UBS
Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC (the
Agents) pursuant to a distribution agreement (the
Distribution Agreement) among the applicable trust,
us, PFG and the Agents. From time to time, we may also appoint
one or more other broker-dealers to act as an Agent under the
secured medium-term notes program pursuant to the terms of the
Distribution Agreement and such Agent will be specified in the
applicable pricing supplement. The Agents, individually or in a
syndicate, may purchase notes, as principal, from separate
trusts from time to time for resale to investors and other
purchasers at varying prices relating to prevailing market
prices at the time of resale as determined by the applicable
Agent or, if so specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
for resale at a fixed offering price. However, the applicable
trust may agree with an Agent for that Agent to utilize its
reasonable efforts on an agency basis on its behalf to solicit
offers to purchase notes at 100% of the principal amount
thereof, unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing
supplement. In all such cases, a single trust may only issue
notes of a single series on the initial date of sale of such
notes. No additional notes may thereafter be issued by that
trust. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing
supplement, the applicable trust will pay a commission to an
Agent, ranging from .150% to .875% of the principal amount of
each note, depending upon its stated maturity, sold through that
Agent as its agent. The notes may be sold to United States and
foreign institutional and other investors.
Subject to the terms of the Distribution Agreement, concurrently
with any offering of notes as described in this prospectus
supplement by the applicable trust, a separate trust may issue
other notes under our
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program or our secured medium-term notes retail program
primarily to retail investors or the accompanying prospectus or
this prospectus supplement.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
any note sold to an Agent as principal will be purchased by that
Agent at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount thereof
less a percentage of the principal amount equal to the
commission applicable to an agency sale of a note of identical
maturity. An Agent may sell notes it has purchased from the
applicable trust as principal to certain dealers less a
concession equal to all or any portion of the discount received
in connection with that purchase. An Agent may allow, and
dealers may reallow, a discount to certain other dealers. After
the initial offering of notes (in the case of notes to be sold
on a fixed offering price basis), the concession and the
reallowance may be changed.
The applicable trust reserves the right to withdraw, cancel or
modify the offer made hereby without notice and may reject
offers in whole or in part. Each Agent will have the right, in
its discretion reasonably exercised, to reject in whole or in
part any offer to purchase notes received by it on an agency
basis.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
you will be required to
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pay the purchase price of your notes in immediately available
funds in the specified currency in The City of New York on the
date of settlement.
Upon issuance, the notes will not have an established trading
market. The notes may not be listed on any securities exchange.
The Agents may from time to time purchase and sell notes in the
secondary market, but the Agents are not obligated to do so.
There can be no assurance that a secondary market for the notes
will develop or that there will be liquidity in the secondary
market if one develops. From time to time, the Agents may make a
market in the notes, but the Agents are not obligated to do so
and may discontinue any market-making activity at any time.
In connection with an offering of notes purchased by one or more
Agents as principal on a fixed offering price basis, the
applicable Agents will be permitted to engage in certain
transactions that stabilize the price of notes. These
transactions may consist of bids or purchases for the purpose of
pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of notes. If those
Agents create a short position in notes (i.e., if they sell
notes in an amount exceeding the amount referred to in the
applicable pricing supplement), they may reduce that short
position by purchasing notes in the open market. In general,
purchases of notes for the purpose of stabilization or to reduce
a short position could cause the price of notes to be higher
than it might be in the absence of these type of purchases.
None of us, PFG, the applicable trust or any Agent makes any
representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of
any effect that the transactions described in the immediately
preceding paragraph may have on the price of notes. In addition,
none of us, PFG, the applicable trust or any Agent makes any
representation that the Agents will engage in any such
transactions or that such transactions, once commenced, will not
be discontinued without notice.
The Agents are underwriters within the meaning of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to the
notes being distributed, the funding agreement purchased by the
trust and the guarantee issued to the trust. We and PFG have
agreed, jointly and severally, to indemnify the Agents against
certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, or to contribute to payments the Agents
may be required to make in respect thereof.
With respect to any series of notes as to which affiliates of
the indenture trustee will serve as an Agent, the relevant trust
will appoint an eligible and unaffiliated entity to serve as
indenture trustee with respect to such series of notes, instead
of the indenture trustee.
We are a statutory issuer of the notes under the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended. In addition, under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, each trust is a statutory underwriter of the
related funding agreement and guarantee.
In the ordinary course of business, the Agents and their
affiliates have engaged, and may in the future engage, in
investment and commercial banking transactions with us and
certain of our affiliates, including PFG.
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PROSPECTUS
$5,000,000,000
Secured Medium-Term Notes (That are also Asset-Backed
Securities)
Issued Through and Obligations of
Principal Life Income Fundings Trusts
Secured by Funding Agreements
Issued by Principal Life Insurance Company
and
Guarantees Issued by Principal Financial Group, Inc.
Principal Life: We are Principal Life Insurance Company,
an Iowa insurance company, the sponsor of the program and the
depositor and issuer of the funding agreements described below.
This prospectus relates to the offering, from time to time,
through newly established separate and distinct issuing entities
in the form of the trusts described below to institutional and
retail investors, of one or more series of secured medium-term
notes (that are also asset-backed securities), which we refer to
in this prospectus as notes, in an aggregate
principal amount of up to $5,000,000,000 or the equivalent
amount in one or more foreign or composite currencies.
Issuing Entities: The applicable trust will use the net
proceeds from the offering of its series of notes to purchase a
funding agreement sold to, and deposited into, the applicable
trust by us. Our payment obligations under the funding agreement
relating to the applicable series of notes will be fully and
unconditionally guaranteed by a guarantee issued by Principal
Financial Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our indirect
parent (PFG).
Each trust will exist for the exclusive purpose of issuing and
selling one series of notes to investors, using the net proceeds
from the sale of that series of notes to acquire a funding
agreement from us, collaterally assigning and granting a
security interest in the applicable funding agreement, and
collaterally assigning and granting a security interest in the
applicable guarantee, in favor of the indenture trustee, and
engaging in other activities necessary or incidental thereto.
The notes may be offered to institutional or retail investors.
The notes are obligations of the applicable issuing entity. The
notes are secured medium-term notes that are also asset-backed
securities.
Notes offered to institutional investors will be offered under
the prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating to our
secured medium-term notes program. The notes of each series will:
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be issued by a separate and distinct trust and will be the
obligations of that issuing entity; |
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be issued in only one class; |
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provide for payment in U.S. dollars or one or more foreign
currencies; |
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bear interest at fixed or floating rates, or bear no interest at
all; |
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pay interest on each series of notes on a monthly, quarterly,
semi-annual or annual basis (unless otherwise specified in the
applicable pricing supplement); |
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have a stated maturity of between 9 months and
30 years from the date of issue; and |
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have redemption and/or repayment provisions, if applicable,
whether mandatory or at the option of the trust or the holders
of the notes. |
Notes offered to retail investors will be offered under the
prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating to the
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program or the prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating
to the secured medium-term notes retail program. The notes of
each series will:
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be issued by a separate and distinct trust and will be the
obligations of that issuing entity; |
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be issued in only one class; |
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provide for payment in U.S. dollars; |
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bear interest at fixed or floating rates, or bear no interest at
all; |
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pay interest on each series of notes on a monthly, quarterly,
semi-annual or annual basis (unless otherwise specified in the
applicable pricing supplement); |
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have a stated maturity of between 9 months and
30 years from the date of issue; and |
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have redemption and/or repayment provisions, if applicable,
whether mandatory or at the option of the trust or the holders
of notes. |
Holders of a series of notes may look only to the trusts
rights and title in the funding agreement issued to, and
deposited into, the applicable trust by us, the related
guarantee issued by PFG and any proceeds of that funding
agreement and guarantee held in the trust and not to any other
assets or collateral held by any other trust, us or PFG.
We will provide the specific terms of an offering of notes in an
accompanying prospectus supplement and pricing supplement,
including how a particular offering of notes will be made and
whether the notes of any series will be listed on a securities
exchange.
Our principal executive offices are located at 711 High Street,
Des Moines, Iowa 50392-0001 and our telephone number is
(515) 247-5111.
See Risk Factors beginning on page 2 for a
discussion of certain risks that should be considered in
connection with an investment in the notes.
None of the Securities and Exchange Commission, any state
securities commission or any state insurance commission has
approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if
this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any pricing
supplement is truthful or complete. Any representation to the
contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is February 16, 2006
Principal®
and Principal Financial Group and
Design®
are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services,
Inc. and are used under license.
CoreNotes®
is a registered service mark of Merrill Lynch & Co.,
Inc.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we and
PFG filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
SEC) utilizing a shelf registration
process. Under this process, notes may be offered, from time to
time, through newly established separate and distinct trusts, up
to a total amount of $5,000,000,000 in aggregate principal
amount or the equivalent principal amount in one or more foreign
or composite currencies. This prospectus provides you with a
general description of the notes offered through trusts and the
underlying funding agreements and guarantees. An accompanying
prospectus supplement to this prospectus will provide the
specific terms of the notes and the underlying funding
agreements and guarantees. Each time notes are offered through a
trust, we may also provide a pricing supplement to this
prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement that will
contain specific information about the terms of the offering.
The pricing supplement may also add to, update, supplement or
clarify the information contained in this prospectus and
applicable prospectus supplement and, accordingly, before you
agree to purchase any notes, you should read this prospectus,
the applicable prospectus supplement and any pricing supplement
together with the information described under the heading
Where You Can Find More Information on page 11.
In this prospectus, references to Principal Life,
we, us and our are to
Principal Life Insurance Company, an Iowa insurance company,
references to PFG are to Principal Financial Group,
Inc., a Delaware corporation and our indirect parent company,
and references to a trust are to the applicable
separate and distinct special purpose common law trusts, formed
in a jurisdiction located in the United States of America, which
actually issues the applicable series of notes. In this
prospectus, we refer to each series of Secured Medium-Term Notes
as a series of notes and to Secured Medium-Term
Notes in general as notes.
In this prospectus, references to United States
dollars, U.S. dollars, or $
are to lawful currency of the United States of America, and
references to euro are to the currency introduced at
the start of the third stage of the European economic and
monetary union pursuant to the treaty establishing the European
Community, as amended.
You should rely only on the information incorporated by
reference or provided in this prospectus, the applicable
prospectus supplement and the applicable pricing supplement.
None of us, PFG, any trust or any of our or their respective
agents or dealers has authorized any other person to provide you
with different or additional information. If anyone provides you
with different information, you should not rely on it. None of
us, PFG, any trust or any of our or their respective agents or
dealers is making an offer to sell the notes in any jurisdiction
where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that
the information appearing in this prospectus, the applicable
prospectus supplement or the applicable pricing supplement, as
well as information PFG previously filed with the SEC and
incorporated by reference, is accurate only as of the date on
the front cover of those documents or the date those documents
were filed with the SEC, as applicable. Our and PFGs
business, financial condition, results of operations and
prospects may have changed since that date. For more detail on
the terms of the notes, you should read the exhibits filed with
or incorporated by reference in our registration statement.
1
RISK FACTORS
Your investment in the notes will involve certain risks. This
prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement contain
all of the risks that we believe are material to an investment
in the notes.
In consultation with your own financial, accounting and legal
advisors, you should carefully consider the information included
in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, the
accompanying prospectus supplement and the applicable pricing
supplement, and pay special attention to the following
discussion of risks before deciding whether an investment in the
notes is suitable for you. The notes will not be an appropriate
investment for you if you are not knowledgeable about
significant features of the notes or financial matters in
general. You should not purchase notes unless you understand,
and know that you can bear, these investment risks.
Because the applicable trust will rely on the payments that the
trust receives on the funding agreement (or the related
guarantee) to fund all payments on the related notes, you are
making an investment decision regarding the funding agreement
and the related guarantee as well as the related notes. You
should carefully review the information in this prospectus, the
accompanying prospectus supplement and the related pricing
supplement about the notes, the funding agreement and the
related guarantee.
Risk Factors Relating to Each Trust
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Each trust has limited resources and therefore each
trusts ability to make timely payments with respect to its
series of notes will depend on our making payments under the
related funding agreement or PFG making payments under the
related guarantee |
The principal assets of each trust will be a funding agreement
(a funding agreement) issued by us and a related
full and unconditional guarantee (a guarantee)
issued by PFG of our payment obligations under the funding
agreement. Although the trust will purchase the funding
agreement relating to a particular series of notes, the trust
will grant a security interest in and collaterally assign the
funding agreement to the indenture trustee and the trust will
collaterally assign and grant a security interest in the related
guarantee to the indenture trustee, in each case for the benefit
of the holders of the related series of notes to secure the
trusts obligations under that series of notes.
Accordingly, each series of notes will be secured by a funding
agreement and the related guarantee, together with all of the
proceeds in respect of, all amounts and instruments on deposit
from time to time in the relevant collection account and all of
the books and records pertaining to, such funding agreement and
related guarantee and all of the trusts rights thereto,
which we collectively refer to in this prospectus as the
collateral. The debts, liabilities, obligations and
expenses incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing with
respect to a particular trust will be enforceable against only
the assets held in such trust and not against the assets of any
other trust, us or PFG. No series of notes will have any right
to receive payments from the collateral related to any other
series of notes issued by another trust or from our assets or
PFGs assets.
The ability to receive payments on a series of notes will
principally depend on payments under each related funding
agreement and the related guarantee. Accordingly, the applicable
trust will only be able to make timely payments with respect to
a series of notes if we have made all required payments under
the funding agreement securing the related series of notes or,
if we fail to make such payments, PFG has made all required
payments under the related guarantee. See Risk
Factors Relating to the Collateral below in this
prospectus.
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The notes are the obligations of the applicable trust only
and are not obligations of, or guaranteed by, us, PFG or any of
our or its affiliates |
The notes will not be obligations of, and will not be guaranteed
by, us, PFG or any of our or its respective subsidiaries or
affiliates. Except for our payment obligations under the funding
agreement and the expense and indemnity agreements and the full
and unconditional guarantee of our payment obligations under the
funding agreement by PFG, none of us, PFG, U.S. Bank
Trust National Association, as trustee (the
trustee) or GSS Holdings II, Inc., as trust
beneficial owner (the trust beneficial owner) is
under
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any obligation to provide funds or capital to the trust. In
addition, the notes will not benefit from any insurance
guarantee fund coverage or any similar protection. Each trust
has no net worth as of the date of this prospectus, and the net
worth of each trust will be approximately $15 at inception,
unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement.
The net worth of each trust is not expected to increase
materially.
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Each trust has no prior operating history |
Each trust exists solely to:
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issue and sell, from time to time, one series of notes to
investors; |
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use the net proceeds from the sale of its series of notes to
acquire a funding agreement from us and a related guarantee from
PFG; |
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collaterally assign and grant a security interest in the
applicable funding agreement, and collaterally assign and grant
a security interest in the applicable guarantee, in favor of the
indenture trustee; and |
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engage in other activities necessary or incidental thereto. |
Each trust has no prior operating history.
Risk Factors Relating to the Notes
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The notes are non-recourse obligations of the applicable
trust and your claims as a holder of a series of notes are
limited to the amount of the applicable collateral |
The notes of a series are payable only from the collateral held
as security for notes of a series by the relevant trust. If any
event of default occurs under any series of notes, the rights of
the holders of the series of notes and the indenture trustee,
acting on behalf of such holders will be limited to a proceeding
against the applicable collateral. None of the holders of the
affected notes or the indenture trustee, acting on behalf of
such holders, will have the right to proceed against the
collateral related to any other series of notes issued by
another trust. Furthermore, no holder or the indenture trustee,
acting on behalf of such holder, will have the ability to
proceed against any of us, PFG, our or its officers, directors,
affiliates, employees or agents or any of the applicable
trusts trustees, beneficial owner or agents, or any of
their respective officers, directors, affiliates, employees or
agents except with respect to enforcing obligations under the
funding agreement against us and the guarantee of our payment
obligations under that funding agreement against PFG. All claims
of the holders of a series of notes in excess of amounts
received from the related collateral will be extinguished.
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Noteholders will not have any direct contractual rights
against us under the applicable funding agreement or against PFG
under the related guarantee |
The funding agreement issued by us to the applicable trust will
be a contractual obligation between us and that trust. Once the
trust collaterally assigns and grants a security interest in all
of its rights and privileges in the funding agreement to the
indenture trustee for the benefit of the holders of the related
series of notes to secure the trusts obligations under
such series of notes, the indenture trustee will be the only
party with recourse rights against us under the funding
agreement. Subject to certain conditions in the indenture,
however, holders of the applicable series of notes representing
a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding
notes of such series have the right to direct the time, method
and place of conducting any proceedings for exercising any
remedy available to the indenture trustee in respect of such
series of notes, including with respect to the related funding
agreement. See Description of the Notes
Nonrecourse Enforcement.
The guarantee issued by PFG to the trust will be a contractual
obligation between PFG and that trust. Once that trust
collaterally assigns and grants a security interest in all of
its rights and privileges in the guarantee to the indenture
trustee for the benefit of the holders of the related series of
notes to secure
3
its obligations under such notes, the indenture trustee will be
the only party with recourse rights against PFG under the
guarantee. Subject to certain conditions in the indenture,
however, holders of the applicable series of notes representing
a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding
notes of such series have the right to direct the time, method
and place of conducting any proceedings for exercising any
remedy available to the indenture trustee in respect of such
series of notes, including with respect to the related
guarantee. See Description of the Notes
Nonrecourse Enforcement.
Since we and PFG are registrants, purchasers of notes may
proceed directly against us and PFG to enforce their rights
under the United States federal and state securities laws. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against us, with respect to
the applicable funding agreement, under the United States
federal and state securities laws is no different than if we had
issued the funding agreement directly to such purchasers. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against PFG, with respect to
the applicable guarantee, under the United States federal and
state securities laws is no different than if PFG had issued the
guarantee directly to such purchasers.
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An event of default under the notes may not constitute an
event of default under the applicable funding
agreement and the applicable guarantee |
In certain circumstances an event of default under a series of
notes may not constitute an event of default under the
applicable funding agreement and the applicable guarantee.
To the extent that:
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the trust fails to observe or perform in any material respect
any covenant contained in the indenture or its series of notes; |
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the indenture ceases to be in full force and effect or the
indenture trustees security interest in the collateral is
successfully challenged or is determined to be defective; or |
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the trust or the collateral is subject to certain actions under
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar laws or any
receivership, liquidation, dissolution or other similar action
or the trust is unable to pay its debts; |
it is possible that the trusts obligations under any
series of notes may be accelerated while our obligations under
the funding agreement and PFGs obligations under the
related guarantee may not be similarly accelerated. If this
occurs, scheduled payments under the funding agreement would not
be accelerated and the indenture trustee may have no or limited
ability to proceed against the funding agreement and the related
guarantee and holders of the trusts notes may not be paid
in full, or in a timely manner upon such acceleration. See
Description of the Notes Events of
Default and Description of the Funding
Agreements in this prospectus and Risk
Factors Risk Factors Relating to the
Notes Ratings of our programs and any rated series
of notes may not reflect all risks of an investment in the notes
and may change in accordance with our financial strength
rating.
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As a result of withholding, payments under the funding
agreement and the related guarantee may be insufficient to pay
principal and interest under the notes |
Payments of the principal of and interest on a series of notes
will be made solely from the payments the trust receives under
the funding agreement or, if we fail to make such payments, the
payments the trust receives under the related guarantee. Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement or
pricing supplement, we or PFG will not pay any additional
amounts in respect of a funding agreement to compensate for any
withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or
future taxes, duties, levies, assessments or governmental
charges of whatever nature imposed or levied on payments in
respect of a funding agreement, by or on behalf of any
governmental authority, and each holder of a note of the related
series of notes will be deemed for all purposes to have received
cash in an amount equal to the portion of such withholding or
deduction that is attributable to such holders interest in
the notes, as equitably determined by the trust. Under this
circumstance, the trust will not actually pay, or cause to be
paid, to such holder all of the amounts which would have been
receivable by such holder in
4
the absence of such taxes, duties, levies, assessments or other
governmental charges. Any such withholding or deduction will not
give rise to an event of default or any independent right or
obligation to redeem the affected funding agreement or the
related series of notes.
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The notes could be deemed to be contracts of insurance or
participations in the related funding agreement which could
subject holders of the notes to certain regulatory requirements
and reduce the marketability and market value of the
notes |
The laws and regulations of the 50 states of the United
States and the District of Columbia (the covered
jurisdictions) contain broad definitions of the activities
that may constitute the business of insurance or the
distribution of insurance products. Because the primary asset of
the relevant trust will be a funding agreement issued by us, it
is possible that insurance regulators in one or more
jurisdictions could take the position that (i) the issuance
of notes by the trust, or the performance of the trusts
obligations under the notes, including the payment or prepayment
of amounts due under the notes, constitutes the indirect
issuance of a funding agreement or other insurance product, and
(ii) the distribution, transfer, sale, resale or assignment
of the notes of a series constitutes the production or sale of a
funding agreement or other insurance product. If such a position
were to be taken in any covered jurisdiction, the underlying
activity and the person conducting such activity (including the
relevant trust, us, any underwriter, dealer or agent, an
investor or any other person) could become subject to regulation
under the insurance laws of one or more of the covered
jurisdictions, which could, among other effects, require such
persons to be subject to regulatory licensure or other
qualification and levels of compliance that cannot practically
be achieved. Failure to comply with such requirements could
subject such persons to regulatory penalties. In addition, any
such failure to comply or the threat of any such regulation
could reduce liquidity with respect to the notes, prevent an
investor from transferring notes and reduce the marketability
and market value of the notes. Any financial penalty assessed
against the relevant trust could affect its ability to pay
amounts due under the notes. Therefore, any such regulation or
threat of such regulation by any one or more covered
jurisdictions could result in an investor being unable to
liquidate its investment in the notes, or, upon any such
liquidation, receiving a value significantly less than the
initial investment in the notes.
We believe that the notes will not be considered to be funding
agreements, insurance or annuity policies or contracts or any
other products regulated under the insurance laws of the covered
jurisdictions and the trust will not be deemed to be engaging in
the business of insurance in such jurisdictions solely as a
result of such offer or sale of the notes.
There are wide variations in the insurance laws of the covered
jurisdictions, subtle nuances in their application and a general
absence of any consistent pattern of interpretation or
enforcement with respect to the subject regulatory issues.
Insurance regulatory authorities have broad discretionary powers
in administering and interpreting the insurance laws of their
respective jurisdictions. Any such regulatory interpretation is
not necessarily binding on any state or federal court. Any such
insurance regulatory authorities or courts could take positions
contrary to our beliefs described above. Accordingly, there can
be no assurance that the purchase, resale, transfer or
assignment of the notes will not subject the parties to such
transaction to regulation or enforcement proceedings under the
insurance laws of one or more covered jurisdictions, which could
result in fines, penalties and other civil and criminal
enforcement actions, as well as prohibiting the transfer or
effectiveness of the notes without compliance with appropriate
insurance licensing and other laws.
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Any survivors option may be subject to certain
limitations |
Under our programs targeted to retail investors, we have the
discretionary right to limit the aggregate principal amount of:
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all funding agreements securing all outstanding series of notes
issued under our programs targeted to retail investors as to
which exercises of any put option by any trust shall be accepted
by us in any calendar year to an amount equal to the greater of
$2,000,000 or 2% of the aggregate principal amount of all
funding agreements securing all outstanding series |
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of notes issued under our programs targeted to retail investors
as of the end of the most recent calendar year or such other
greater amount as determined in accordance with the applicable
funding agreement and set forth in the applicable pricing
supplement; |
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the funding agreements securing the notes as to which exercises
of any put option by the applicable trust attributable to notes
as to which the survivors option has been exercised by the
authorized representative of any individual deceased beneficial
owner to $250,000 in any calendar year or such other greater
amount as determined in accordance with the applicable funding
agreement and set forth in the applicable pricing
supplement; and |
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the funding agreement securing a series of notes as to which
exercises of any put option by the applicable trust shall be
accepted in any calendar year to an amount as set forth in the
applicable funding agreement and the applicable pricing
supplement. |
In any such event, a trust shall similarly be required to limit
the aggregate principal amount of notes as to which exercises of
the survivors option shall be accepted by the trust.
Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the exercise of the
survivors option for a desired amount will be accepted as
to any series of notes or in any single calendar year.
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Redemption may adversely affect your return on the
notes |
If the funding agreement related to your notes is redeemable at
our option, including our right to redeem such funding agreement
if we are, or a material probability exists that we will be, if
specified in the circumstances set forth in the relevant pricing
supplement, required to pay additional amounts in connection
with any withholding or deduction for or on account of any
present or future taxes, duties, levies, assessments or
governmental charges of whatever nature imposed or levied on
payments in respect of such funding agreement or the notes such
funding agreement secures, by or on behalf of any governmental
authority, or upon the occurrence of a tax event (as
defined under Description of the Funding
Agreements Early Redemption for Tax Event),
the trust will redeem your notes if we choose to redeem the
related funding agreement. Each trust may issue a series of
notes which may be redeemed by the issuing trust when 20% or
more of the original principal balance of such notes is
outstanding, which are referred to as callable
notes. Notes that may be redeemed at the option of the trust at
a time when 20% or more of the original principal amount of such
notes are outstanding will be designated in their title as
callable in the applicable pricing supplement.
Prevailing interest rates at the time the trust redeems your
notes may be lower than the rate borne by the notes as of their
original issue date. In such a case, you generally will not be
able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable
security at an effective interest rate as high as your notes
being redeemed. Our redemption right also may adversely impact
your ability to sell your notes.
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There may not be any trading market for your notes and
many factors affect the trading and market value of your
notes |
Upon issuance, a series of notes will not have an established
trading market. We cannot assure you a trading market for your
notes will ever develop or be maintained if developed. In
addition to the trusts, PFGs and our
creditworthiness, many factors affect the trading market for,
and trading value of, your notes. These factors include:
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the complexity and volatility of the formula applicable to the
interest rate borne by your notes; |
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the method of calculating the principal, premium and interest in
respect of your notes; |
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the time remaining to the maturity of your notes; |
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the outstanding amount of the applicable series of notes; |
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any redemption or repayment features of your notes; |
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the amount of other debt securities linked to the formula
applicable to your notes; and |
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the level, direction and volatility of market interest rates
generally. |
There may be a limited number of buyers if you decide to sell
your notes. This may affect the price you receive for your notes
or your ability to sell your notes at all. In addition, notes
that are designed for specific investment objectives or
strategies often experience a more limited trading market and
more price volatility than those not so designed. You should not
purchase notes unless you understand and know you can bear all
of the investment risks associated with your notes.
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If the trust issues notes denominated in a foreign
currency, those notes are subject to exchange rate and exchange
control risks |
If you invest in notes that are denominated and/or payable in a
currency other than U.S. dollars, which we refer to in this
prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement as
foreign currency notes, you will be subject to
significant risks not associated with an investment in a debt
security denominated and payable in U.S. dollars. The risks
include but are not limited to:
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the possibility of significant market changes in rates of
exchange between U.S. dollars and the specified currency; |
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the possibility of significant changes in rates of exchange
between U.S. dollars and the specified currency resulting
from official redenomination relating to the specified
currency; and |
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the possibility of the imposition or modification of foreign
exchange controls by either the United States or foreign
governments. |
The existence, magnitude and longevity of these risks generally
depend on factors over which none of the trust, we or PFG has
any control and which cannot be readily foreseen, such as:
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economic events; |
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political and regulatory events; and |
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financial events, such as the supply of, and demand for, the
relevant currencies. |
Moreover, if payments on your foreign currency notes are
determined by reference to a formula containing a multiplier or
leverage factor, the effect of any change in the exchange rates
between the applicable currencies will be magnified. In recent
years, exchange rates between certain currencies have been
highly volatile and volatility between these currencies or with
other currencies may be expected in the future. Fluctuations
between currencies in the past are not necessarily indicative,
however, of fluctuations that may occur in the future.
Depreciation of your payment currency would result in a decrease
(1) in the U.S. dollar equivalent yield of your
foreign currency notes, (2) in the U.S. dollar
equivalent value of the principal and any premium payable at
maturity or any earlier redemption of your foreign currency
notes and (3) generally in the U.S. dollar equivalent
market value of your foreign currency notes.
Governments have imposed from time to time, and may in the
future impose, exchange controls that could affect exchange
rates as well as the availability of a specified currency other
than U.S. dollars at the time of payment of principal, any
premium or interest on a foreign currency note. Governments may
use a variety of techniques, such as intervention by a
countrys central bank, the imposition of regulatory
controls or taxes or changes in interest rates to influence the
exchange rates of their currencies. Governments may also alter
the exchange rate or relative exchange characteristics by a
devaluation or revaluation of a currency. There can be no
assurance that exchange controls will not restrict or prohibit
payments of principal, any premium or interest denominated in
any such specified currency.
Even if there are no actual exchange controls, it is possible
that the specified currency would not be available to us when
payments on a funding agreement are due because of circumstances
beyond our
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control. In this event, we will make required payments in
U.S. dollars on the basis described in the accompanying
prospectus supplement or the applicable pricing supplement. You
should consult your own financial and legal advisors as to the
risks of an investment in notes denominated in a currency other
than U.S. dollars.
The information set forth in this prospectus and the
accompanying prospectus supplement is directed to prospective
purchasers of notes who are United States residents. The trust,
we and PFG disclaim any responsibility to advise prospective
purchasers who are residents of countries other than the United
States regarding any matters that may affect the purchase or
holding of, or receipt of payments of principal of, or premium
or interest on, notes. Such persons should consult their
advisors with regard to these matters.
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Ratings of our programs and any rated series of notes may
not reflect all risks of an investment in the notes and may
change in accordance with our financial strength rating |
In the event that the programs generally or a specific series of
notes is rated by a rating agency, the ratings of the programs
or such notes will primarily reflect our financial strength and
will change in accordance with our financial strength rating and
with any change in the priority status of funding agreement
obligations under Iowa law. Any rating is not a recommendation
to purchase, sell or hold any particular security, including the
notes. Such ratings do not comment as to the market price or
suitability of the notes for a particular investor. In addition,
there can be no assurance that a rating will be maintained for
any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered or
withdrawn in its entirety. The ratings of our secured
medium-term notes program and our program targeted to retail
investors and any rated series of notes issued under these
programs may not reflect the potential impact of all risks
related to structure and other factors on any trading market
for, or trading value of, your notes.
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An increase in market interest rates could result in a
decrease in the value of any notes bearing interest at a fixed
rate |
If market interest rates increase above the interest rate of
fixed rate notes, then fixed rate notes generally decline in
value because debt instruments of the same face value priced at
market interest rates will yield higher income. Consequently, if
you purchase fixed rate notes and market interest rates increase
above the fixed interest rate on the notes you have purchased,
the market value of your notes may decline. Neither we nor PFG
can give any assurance regarding the future level of market
interest rates.
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If you purchase discount notes, the amount payable to you
upon early redemption, repayment or acceleration of these notes
may be less than the principal amount (i.e., par) of the notes
plus accrued but unpaid interest and premium, if any |
If you purchase discount notes, the amount payable to you upon
early redemption, repayment or acceleration of these notes may
be less than the principal amount thereof plus accrued and
unpaid interest. The amount payable will be determined by the
formula set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or
pricing supplement.
Risk Factor Relating to the Collateral
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The funding agreements are our unsecured obligations, the
payment obligations of which are fully and unconditionally
guaranteed by PFG. If the funding agreements were not accorded
Class 2 priority, they would be accorded the same priority
in our insolvency as our other general unsecured obligations. In
the event of our insolvency, PFG may not be able to satisfy its
obligations under the guarantees |
The funding agreements are our unsecured obligations and, in the
event of our impairment or insolvency, the Iowa Insurance
Commissioner will be authorized and directed to commence
delinquency proceedings for the purpose of liquidating,
rehabilitating, reorganizing or conserving us pursuant to Iowa
Code Sections 507C.4, 507C.12, 507C.13, 507C.14 and
507C.16. In conducting delinquency proceedings, claims are
prioritized and an order of distribution is specified pursuant
to Iowa Code Section 507C.42.
8
There are nine classes within the priority scheme, with each
successive class being fully junior to the preceding class.
Sidley Austin LLP, counsel to us and PFG, has opined that,
subject to the limitations, qualifications and assumptions set
forth in its opinion letter, in a properly prepared and
presented case, a court applying Iowa law would conclude that
loss claims of principal and interest in respect of each funding
agreement would be accorded Class 2 priority under Iowa
Code Section 507C.42 and paid equally in priority with our
other policyholders.
Sidley Austin LLP has advised that its opinion is based on its
interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Iowa Code as
construed by relevant administrative and judicial authority.
However, the Iowa Code and regulations, interpretations and
decisions are subject to change, either prospectively or
retroactively, and many of the issues addressed in
counsels opinion depend upon a facts and circumstances
analysis that has received little or no administrative or
judicial consideration. Therefore, the Iowa Insurance
Commissioner, in his/her capacity as liquidator, rehabilitator
or otherwise, or the courts could disagree in whole or in part
with our analysis.
In the event that a funding agreement were not accorded
Class 2 priority in our insolvency, the funding agreement
would be accorded the lower priority associated with our general
unsecured obligations, which would adversely affect the ability
of the applicable trust to recover any claims of principal and
interest in respect of such funding agreement. See
Description of the Funding Agreements
Priority.
Iowa law would apply to our insolvency or receivership
proceedings. Investors should note, however, that the statutory
liquidation priority accorded to funding agreements under Iowa
law does not clearly apply to any additional amounts required to
be paid (if specified in the applicable pricing supplement) as
may be necessary in order that the net amounts receivable by a
holder after any withholding or deduction under United States
tax law shall equal the respective amounts which would have been
receivable by such holder in the absence of such withholding or
deduction. Accordingly, claims for such payments, if any, may
not rank equally with either life insurance policy and annuity
claims or funding agreement claims, and may rank with our
unsecured debt obligations, which would adversely affect the
ability of the applicable trust to recover any claims of
additional amounts in respect of such funding agreement. See
Description of the Funding Agreements.
Each guarantee will be issued by PFG, our indirect parent
company. We represent a substantial portion of the assets of
PFG. In the event of our insolvency or receivership, PFG may
incur limitations in receiving any distributions from us. In
such an event, PFG may have limited resources to satisfy its
obligations under the guarantees.
Risk Factors Relating to PFG
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PFGs efforts to reduce the impact of interest rate
changes on its profitability and financial condition may not be
effective |
PFG attempts to reduce the impact of changes in interest rates
on the profitability and surplus of its asset accumulation and
life and health insurance operations. PFG accomplishes this
reduction primarily by managing the duration of its assets
relative to the duration of its liabilities. During a period of
rising interest rates, policy surrenders, withdrawals and
requests for policy loans may increase as customers seek to
achieve higher returns. Despite PFGs efforts to reduce the
impact of rising interest rates, it may be required to sell
assets to raise the cash necessary to respond to such
surrenders, withdrawals and loans, thereby realizing capital
losses on the assets sold. An increase in policy surrenders and
withdrawals may also require PFG to accelerate amortization of
policy acquisition costs relating to these contracts, which
would further reduce its net income.
During periods of declining interest rates, borrowers may prepay
or redeem mortgages and bonds that PFG owns, which would force
PFG to reinvest the proceeds at lower interest rates. For some
of PFGs products, such as guaranteed investment contracts
and funding agreements, PFG is unable to lower the rate it
credits to customers in response to the lower return it will
earn on its investments. In addition, it may be more difficult
for PFG to maintain its desired spread between the investment
income it earns
9
and the interest it credits to its customers during periods of
declining interest rates thereby reducing PFGs
profitability.
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A downgrade in any of our ratings may increase policy
surrenders and withdrawals, reduce new sales and terminate
relationships with distributors, any of which could adversely
affect PFGs profitability and financial condition |
Ratings are important factors in establishing the competitive
position of insurance companies. A downgrade, or the potential
for such a downgrade, of any of our ratings could, among other
things:
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materially increase the number of policy or contract surrenders
for all or a portion of their net cash values and withdrawals by
policyholders of cash values from their policies; |
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result in the termination of relationships with broker-dealers,
banks, agents, wholesalers and other distributors of PFGs
products and services; |
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reduce new sales, particularly with respect to general account
guaranteed investment contracts and funding agreements purchased
by pension plans and other institutions; and |
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cause some of PFGs existing liabilities to be subject to
acceleration, additional collateral support, changes in terms or
creation of additional financial obligations. |
Any of these consequences could adversely affect PFGs
profitability and financial condition.
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PFGs investment portfolio is subject to several
risks that may diminish the value of its invested assets and
adversely affect its sales, profitability and the investment
returns credited to its customers |
PFGs investment portfolio is subject to several risks,
including, among other things:
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An increase in defaults on fixed maturity securities portfolio
may reduce profitability. |
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An increase in delinquency or defaults on PFGs commercial
mortgage loan portfolio, especially those with balloon payments,
could decrease PFGs profitability. |
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PFG may have greater difficulty selling its privately placed
fixed maturity securities, commercial mortgage loans and real
estate investments, because they are less liquid than its
publicly traded fixed maturity securities. |
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Derivative instruments may not be honored by counterparties
resulting in ineffective hedging of PFGs risks. |
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Environmental liability exposure may result from PFGs
commercial mortgage loan portfolio and real estate investments. |
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Regional concentration of PFGs commercial mortgage loan
portfolio may subject PFG to economic downturns or losses
attributable to natural disasters in these regions. |
Any of these consequences may diminish the value of PFGs
invested assets and adversely affect its sales, profitability or
the investment returns credited to its customers.
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Changes in regulation in the United States may reduce
PFGs profitability |
PFGs insurance business is subject to comprehensive state
regulation and supervision throughout the United States. The
primary purpose of state regulation of the insurance business is
to protect policyholders, and not necessarily to protect other
constituencies such as creditors or investors. State insurance
regulators and the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners continually reexamine existing laws and
regulations and may impose changes in the future. Changes in
federal legislation and administrative policies in areas such as
employee benefit plan regulation, financial services regulation
and federal taxation could result in increased exposure on
outstanding products or reduced sales of new products and
therefore, could reduce PFGs profitability.
10
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This prospectus, any prospectus supplement, any pricing
supplement and the information incorporated by reference in such
documents may include forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended. These statements are intended to enhance the
readers ability to assess the future financial performance
of PFG, as our indirect parent company and the guarantor of our
payment obligations under the funding agreement that will secure
the related series of notes. Forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, statements that represent beliefs
concerning future operations, strategies, financial results or
other developments, and contain words and phrases such as
anticipate, believe, plan,
estimate, expect, intend,
would, should and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are made based upon managements
current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments
and their potential effects on PFG. Such forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance. The safe
harbors contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, do not apply to us or the
trusts.
Actual results may differ materially from those included in the
forward-looking statements as a result of risks and
uncertainties including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) a decline or increased volatility in the securities
markets could result in investors withdrawing from the markets
or decreasing their rates of investment, either of which could
reduce PFGs net income, revenues and assets under
management; (2) PFGs investment portfolio is subject
to several risks which may diminish the value of invested assets
and affect its sales, profitability and the investment returns
credited to its customers; (3) competition from companies
that may have greater financial resources, broader arrays of
products, higher ratings and stronger financial performance may
impair PFGs ability to retain existing customers, attract
new customers and maintain its profitability; (4) a
downgrade in our financial strength ratings may increase policy
surrenders and withdrawals, reduce new sales and terminate
relationships with distributors and cause some of PFGs
existing liabilities to be subject to acceleration, additional
collateral support, changes in terms or creation of additional
financial obligations; (5) PFGs efforts to reduce the
impact of interest rate changes on its profitability and surplus
may not be effective; (6) if PFG is unable to attract and
retain sales representatives and develop new distribution
sources, sales of its products and services may be reduced;
(7) PFGs international businesses face political,
legal, operational and other risks that could reduce its
profitability in those businesses; (8) PFG reserves
established for future policy benefits and claims may prove
inadequate, requiring it to increase liabilities;
(9) PFGs ability to pay stockholder dividends and
meet its obligations may be constrained by the limitations on
dividends Iowa insurance laws impose on us; (10) PFG may
need to fund deficiencies in our closed block (Closed
Block) assets which benefit only the holders of Closed
Block policies; (11) changes in laws, regulations,
accounting standards or interpretations thereof may reduce the
profitability of PFG; (12) litigation and regulatory
investigations may harm PFGs financial strength and reduce
its profitability; (13) fluctuations in foreign currency
exchange rates could reduce PFGs profitability;
(14) applicable laws and PFGs stockholder rights
plan, certificate of incorporation and by-laws may discourage
takeovers and business combinations that PFGs stockholders
might consider in their best interests; and (15) a
downgrade in PFGs debt ratings may adversely affect
PFGs ability to secure funds and cause some of its
existing liabilities to be subject to acceleration, additional
collateral support, changes in terms or creation of additional
financial obligations.
You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of their dates. Except as
required by the federal securities laws, we, PFG, each trust,
and our or their respective agents and dealers shall not
undertake any obligation to update or review forward-looking
statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of
unanticipated events or changes to projections over time.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus, which constitutes part of the registration
statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in
the registration statement. Parts of the registration statement
are omitted from this
11
prospectus in accordance with the rules and regulations of the
SEC. The registration statement, including the attached
exhibits, contains additional relevant information about us, PFG
and the trusts. PFG is subject to the informational requirements
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and, in
compliance with such laws, PFG files annual, quarterly and
current reports, proxy statements and other information with the
SEC. You can read and copy any reports or other information PFG
files at the SEC public reference room at
100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You
can also request copies of PFGs documents upon payment of
a duplicating fee, by writing the SECs public reference
room. You can obtain information regarding the public reference
room by calling the SEC at
1-800-SEC-0330. PFG
filings are available to the public from commercial document
retrieval services and over the internet at http://www.sec.gov.
(This uniform resource locator (URL) is an inactive textual
reference only and is not intended to incorporate the SEC web
site into this prospectus.)
As depositor, we will file periodic reports, with respect to the
trusts formed under the programs, on
Form 8-K or
Form 10-D, as
applicable, and we will file annual reports with respect to the
trusts on
Form 10-K. You may
access these filings on the SECs web site (which is at
http://www.sec.gov) by using our central index key, which is
0001126328. The URL is an inactive textual reference only and is
not intended to incorporate the SEC web site into this
prospectus. The depositor does not make each
Form 8-K,
Form 10-D and
Form 10-K filed
with the SEC in connection the trusts available on its web site
because including such reports would require the depositor to
incur additional expense without providing additional benefit to
investors given that those reports will be available on the
SECs web site.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us and PFG to incorporate by
reference information that PFG files with the SEC into
this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and
pricing supplement, which means that incorporated documents are
considered part of this prospectus and any accompanying
prospectus supplement and pricing supplement. We and PFG can
disclose important information to you by referring you to those
documents. Information that PFG files with the SEC will
automatically update and supersede the information in this
prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and
pricing supplement.
This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and
pricing supplement incorporate by reference the following
documents:
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PFGs Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2004. |
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PFGs Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the
fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2005. |
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PFGs Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the
fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2005. |
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PFGs Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the
fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2005 |
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PFGs Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
March 7, 2005. |
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PFGs Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
May 23, 2005. |
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PFGs Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
June 17, 2005. |
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PFGs Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
September 26, 2005. |
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PFGs Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
December 2, 2005. |
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PFGs Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
January 31, 2006. |
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Principal Lifes Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
February 7, 2006. |
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PFGs Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on
February 9, 2006. |
This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and
pricing supplement also incorporate by reference all documents
that we, on behalf of ourself or the trusts, as depositor, or
PFG file
12
with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, after the
date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of the
offering of the notes. These documents contain important
information about the trusts and PFG and their finances,
respectively.
You may also request a copy of any documents incorporated by
reference in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus
supplement and pricing supplement (including any exhibits that
are specifically incorporated by reference in them), at no cost,
by writing or telephoning the following addresses or telephone
numbers:
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Principal Financial Group, Inc.
711 High Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50392-0001
Attention: Amy Wiseman
Telephone: (800) 986-3343 |
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Principal Life Insurance Company
711 High Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50392-0001
Attention: Amy Wiseman
Telephone: (800) 986-3343 |
13
USE OF PROCEEDS
Each trust will use the net proceeds from the issuance of its
series of notes to the public and the trust beneficial interest
to the trust beneficial owner to purchase a funding agreement
issued to, and deposited into, that trust by us. We intend to
use the net proceeds from the sale to the trust of the funding
agreement to purchase investment assets. We expect such assets,
and our other general account assets, will generate investment
income in excess of amounts payable under the funding agreement.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The following table sets forth, for the years and periods
indicated, PFGs ratios of:
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earnings to fixed charges before interest credited on investment
products; and |
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earnings to fixed charges. |
PFG calculates the ratio of earnings to fixed charges
before interest credited on investment products by
dividing the sum of income from continuing operations before
income taxes (BT), interest expense (I), interest factor of
rental expense (IF) less undistributed income from equity
investees (E) by the sum of interest expense (I), interest
factor of rental expense (IF) and dividends on majority-owned
subsidiary redeemable preferred securities (non-intercompany)
(D). The formula for this ratio is: (BT+I+IF-E)/(I+IF+D).
PFG calculates the ratio of earnings to fixed
charges by dividing the sum of income from continuing
operations before income taxes (BT), interest expense (I),
interest factor of rental expense (IF) less undistributed income
from equity investees (E) and the addition of interest credited
on investment products (IC) by interest expense (I), interest
factor of rental expense (IF), dividends on majority-owned
subsidiary redeemable preferred securities (non-intercompany)
(D) and interest credited on investment products (IC). The
formula for this calculation is: (BT+I+IF-E+IC)/(I+IF+D+IC).
Interest credited on investment products includes
interest paid on guaranteed investment contracts, funding
agreements, medium-term notes and other investment-only pension
products. Similar to debt, these products have a total fixed
return and a fixed maturity date.
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For the Year Ended December 31, | |
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2005* | |
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Ratio of earnings to fixed charges before interest credited on
investment products
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13.7 |
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9.5 |
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7.3 |
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4.2 |
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3.2 |
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6.5 |
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Ratio of earnings to fixed charges
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2.2 |
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2.0 |
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1.9 |
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1.4 |
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1.3 |
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1.8 |
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Through the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2005. |
14
PRINCIPAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY AND PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL
GROUP, INC.
PFG is a leading provider of retirement savings, investment and
insurance products and services and has $188.4 billion in
assets under management and approximately 15.0 million
customers as of September 30, 2005. PFG focuses on
providing retirement products and services to businesses and
their employees.
PFG provides financial products and services through the
following three segments: (1) U.S. Asset Management
and Accumulation, which provides retirement and related
financial products and services primarily to businesses, their
employees and other individuals and provides asset management
services to PFGs asset accumulation business, the life and
health insurance operations, the Corporate and Other segment and
third-party clients; (2) International Asset Management and
Accumulation, which provides retirement products and services,
annuities, long-term mutual funds and life insurance through
subsidiaries and joint ventures in various countries; and
(3) Life and Health Insurance, which provides individual
life insurance, group health insurance, as well as, specialty
benefits, including group dental and vision insurance,
individual and group disability insurance and group life
insurance throughout the United States. PFG markets these
products and services through career agents, brokers, financial
institutions, employee-benefit consultants, financial planners,
direct marketing to existing customers and a variety of
representatives. PFG also has a Corporate and Other segment,
which manages the assets representing capital that has not been
allocated to any other segment.
PFG life insurance in force, net of reinsurance, was
$147.8 billion as of September 30, 2005. As of
September 30, 2005, PFG total invested assets were
$57.0 billion; its separate account assets were
$56.8 billion; and its stockholders equity was
$7.8 billion. PFG net income for the nine months ended
September 30, 2005, was $663.8 million.
We are an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of PFG and are the
7th largest United States life insurance company based on
December 31, 2004 statutory total assets (based on
individual company rankings) according to data provided by
Insurance Research Group, Inc.
We were organized as an individual life insurer in 1879, and
formed a mutual insurance holding company in 1998. On
July 1, 1998, Principal Mutual Life Insurance Company
converted to a mutual holding company structure, changed its
name to Principal Life Insurance Company and created Principal
Mutual Holding Company, a mutual insurance holding company, and
Principal Financial Services, Inc. (PFS), an
intermediate holding company.
Consistent with Iowa law in a process sometimes referred to as a
demutualization, Principal Mutual Holding Company,
under the terms of its plan of conversion, converted from a
mutual insurance holding company to a stock company subsidiary
of PFG, a Delaware business corporation, effective
October 26, 2001. All membership interests in Principal
Mutual Holding Company were extinguished on that date and
eligible policyholders received compensation in the form of
common stock, cash or policy credits.
After giving effect to the reorganization resulting from the
demutualization, we are now a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of
PFS, which, in turn, is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of PFG.
In connection with the issuance of a series of notes by an
issuing trust, we will issue a funding agreement to such issuing
trust with pricing terms substantially similar to that
trusts series of notes, will procure the related guarantee
from PFG, will make payments under the funding agreement, as
required, and will file the reports for the issuing trust, as
required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We
have been engaged in the securitization of funding agreements as
sponsor or depositor in connection with an existing
$4.0 billion secured notes program which is substantially
identical to this program and was declared effective by the SEC
in March 2004. We have also been engaged in the securitization
of funding agreements in connection with private placement
facilities similar in structure to this program since 1998.
15
We are authorized to issue up to $4.0 billion of funding
agreements under a program established in 1998 to support the
prospective issuance of medium-term notes by an unaffiliated
entity in
non-U.S. markets.
In addition, we are authorized to issue up to $7.0 billion
of funding agreements under a program established in 2001 to
support the prospective private issuance of medium-term notes by
an unaffiliated entity in both domestic and international
markets. We do not anticipate any new issuance activity under
that program, in light of our other $4.0 billion secured
notes program declared effective by the SEC in March 2004 and
this program once declared effective by the SEC.
16
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUSTS
The following is a general description of the trusts and the
material provisions of the standard trust terms which will be
incorporated into each trust agreement and other related
documents governing the trusts. The trust agreement is included
in the form of omnibus instrument. This summary is not intended
to be a full restatement of all of the terms of the standard
trust terms or the trust agreement and is subject to the
detailed provisions of such documents. Copies of the standard
trust terms and the form of omnibus instrument (including the
form of trust agreement) have been filed as exhibits to the
registration statement (which includes this prospectus) and are
incorporated into this prospectus by reference. Executed copies
of the applicable trust agreement may be inspected during normal
business hours at our principal executive offices set forth on
the cover page of this prospectus.
General
A separate trust will be created for each series of notes. Each
trust will be a separate and distinct special purpose common law
trust formed in a jurisdiction located in the United States of
America specified in the applicable pricing supplement. Each
trust will be organized pursuant to, and governed by, a trust
agreement, dated as of the date of the applicable pricing
supplement, between the trustee and the trust beneficial owner.
The trust agreement will adopt and incorporate the standard
trust terms in its entirety. With respect to a particular trust,
we refer to the applicable trust agreement and the standard
trust terms as the trust agreement. The assets and
liabilities of each trust will be separate and distinct from the
assets and liabilities of every other trust, us and PFG.
In connection with the issuance of a series of notes by a trust:
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a separate and distinct trust will be formed pursuant to a trust
agreement, which adopts and incorporates the standard trust
terms in its entirety; |
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the trust will acquire a funding agreement issued by us, the
payment obligations of which will be fully and unconditionally
guaranteed by a guarantee issued by PFG to the trust; and |
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the trust will collaterally assign and grant a security interest
in the related funding agreement and collaterally assign and
grant a security interest in the related guarantee in favor of
the indenture trustee for the benefit of the holders of notes of
the applicable series. |
Each trusts principal executive offices will be located at
c/o U.S. Bank Trust National Association, 100
Wall Street, 16th Floor, New York, New York 10005 and its
telephone number is (212) 361-6184.
Nature of Each Trust
The trust agreement provides that each trust will be a separate
and distinct special purpose common law trust formed in a
jurisdiction located in the United States of America specified
in the applicable pricing supplement.
The applicable series of notes and the liabilities, obligations
and expenses related to such series of notes will constitute
debt, liabilities, obligations and expenses incurred, contracted
for or otherwise of the applicable trust.
As separate and distinct special purpose trusts, the debts,
liabilities, obligations and expenses incurred, contracted for
or otherwise existing with respect to a particular trust will be
enforceable only against the assets of such trust and not
against the assets of any other trust, us or PFG. In addition,
none of the debts, liabilities, obligations and expenses
incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing with respect to
us, PFG or any trust will be enforceable against the assets of
any other trust. See Description of the Notes
Nonrecourse Enforcement.
17
Application of Money Received by the Trustee on Behalf of a
Trust
Except for payments made in connection with the liquidation of a
trust, all monies and other property received by the trustee on
behalf of a trust shall be distributed as follows:
first, to the indenture trustee for the payment of all
amounts then due and unpaid upon the applicable notes, if any,
in accordance with the applicable indenture; and
second, to the trust beneficial owner for the payment of
all amounts that would be payable to the trust beneficial owner
if the trust beneficial owner held a note with an original
principal amount of $15 (multiplied by the issue price of the
related notes in the case of discount notes); any remaining
monies and other property shall be distributed ratably in
proportion to their original principal amounts to the holders of
notes last noted in the register as the holders of the notes and
trust beneficial owner (as if the trust beneficial owner held a
note with an original principal amount of $15 (multiplied by the
issue price of the related notes in the case of discount notes)).
Upon the liquidation of a trust, the remaining collateral and
any other assets held in the trust shall be liquidated, and the
trust shall be wound-up
by the trustee in accordance with the trust agreement. In such
event, (i) the trust shall first pay all amounts due and
unpaid on the notes, if any, in accordance with the applicable
indenture, (ii) the trust shall then pay any other claims,
including expenses relating to such liquidation to the extent
not paid, or reasonably provided for, pursuant to the applicable
expense and indemnity agreement, and (iii) the trust shall
then pay to the trust beneficial owner all amounts that would be
payable under the indenture to the trust beneficial owner if the
trust beneficial owner held a note with an original principal
amount of $15 (multiplied by the issue price of the related
notes in the case of discount notes). Any remaining monies and
other property shall be paid ratably in proportion to their
original principal amounts to the holders last noted in the
register as the holders of the notes and the trust beneficial
owner (as if the trust beneficial owner held a note with an
original principal amount of $15 (multiplied by the issue price
of the related notes in the case of discount notes) and as if
each such holder continued to hold its notes after all amounts
due on such notes under the indenture have been paid).
Bankruptcy Concerns
In the trust agreement, the trustee and the trust beneficial
owner agree that neither party will institute against the trust
any bankruptcy proceeding. Also, in the indenture, the indenture
trustee agrees that it will not institute against the trust any
bankruptcy proceeding for payments due the indenture trustee.
However, during the occurrence and continuance of an event of
default, the indenture trustee (on behalf of the holders of
notes) or the holders of notes may accelerate payments of
principal and interest under the notes as well as institute
bankruptcy proceedings against the trust. If a bankruptcy
proceeding is commenced against the trust, we do not anticipate
that the assets of the trust will be consolidated with the
assets of any other party. As the primary asset of each trust is
a funding agreement issued by us, upon a proceeding for our
liquidation, rehabilitation, conservation or supervision or
similar event, an event of default under the notes issued by
each trust will occur and the indenture trustee on behalf of the
noteholders will have a claim against us in such proceeding. We
have been advised by counsel that such claim will be a
policyholder claim against our assets. See Description of
The Funding Agreements Priority. No other
creditors or policyholders of ours should have a claim against
the funding agreement held by each trust or any claims
thereunder. Although PFG issues a guarantee to each trust, a
proceeding for PFGs liquidation, rehabilitation,
conservation or supervision or similar event may not result in
an event of default under the notes if we continue to make
payments received under the related funding agreement. In such
event, if we do not make the required payments under any funding
agreement, an event of default under the related notes will
occur and the indenture trustee on behalf of the noteholders
will be able to make a claim against us, and against PFG in a
bankruptcy proceeding of PFG.
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The Trustee
Pursuant to each trust agreement, the trustee is acting as the
sole trustee of the applicable trust. The trustee will conduct
the activities of each trust. The trustee will only perform
those duties set forth in each trust agreement. Among other
items, the trustee, on behalf of the trust, will:
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enter into the applicable documents relating to the related
series of notes; |
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collaterally assign and grant a security interest in the funding
agreement and guarantee held in the trust to the indenture
trustee for the benefit of the holders of the related series of
notes; |
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file any required tax returns or tax information; and |
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maintain the books and records of the trust. |
The trustee will not be liable under the trust agreement under
any circumstances or for any action or failure to act, except
for (i) its own willful misconduct, bad faith or negligence
or (ii) the inaccuracy of any representation or warranty
contained in the trust agreement made by the trustee.
The trustee may resign by giving at least 60 days written
notice to the trust beneficial owner and the indenture trustee.
If at any time the trustee ceases to be eligible to serve as the
trustee under a trust agreement, or the trustee is unable to
serve as trustee, or is bankrupt or insolvent, then the trust
beneficial owner and the indenture trustee may remove the
trustee. No resignation or removal of the trustee and no
appointment of a successor trustee shall become effective until
the acceptance of appointment by the successor trustee.
U.S. Bank Trust National Association
(U.S. Bank Trust) will act as trustee under the
applicable trust agreements. U.S. Bank Trust is a national
banking association and a wholly-owned subsidiary of
U.S. Bancorp, which is currently ranked as the sixth
largest bank holding company in the United States with total
assets exceeding $204 billion. U.S. Bancorp serves
approximately 13.1 million customers, operates 2,383 branch
offices in 24 states and has over 51,000 employees. A
network of specialized U.S. Bancorp offices across the
nation, inside and outside its
24-state footprint,
provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance,
investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to
consumers, businesses, governments and institutions.
U.S. Bank Trust provides trustee services from at least 5
U.S. cities. The indenture will be administered from
U.S. Bank Trusts office located at 100 Wall
Street, New York, New York 10005.
U.S. Bank Trust or its predecessors have provided fiduciary
services since 1924. As of December 30, 2004,
U.S. Bank Trust was acting as trustee with respect to over
60,000 issuances of securities. U.S. Bank Trust has acted
as trustee of insurance policy-backed securities since 2003. As
of September 30, 2005, U.S. Bank Trust was acting as
trustee on 2 issuances of insurance policy-backed
securitizations, involving more than 200 series of such
securities with an outstanding aggregate principal balance of
approximately $3,500,000,000.
The Trust Beneficial Owner
GSS Holdings II, Inc. as the trust beneficial owner will be
the sole beneficial owner of each trust. The beneficial interest
in each trust:
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will be purchased by the trust beneficial owner for $15 (or in
the case of a trust that issues discount notes, such other
amount as corresponds to the discount on such notes); |
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will be issued in book-entry form only; |
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will entitle the trust beneficial owner to receive payment in
respect thereof on the same terms as the payments to be made to
holders of the related series of notes; and |
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will be subordinated to the related series of notes and will not
be secured by the collateral. |
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The trust beneficial owner will receive periodic distributions
on its beneficial interest at the same rate and on the same day
that holders of notes of the related series of notes receive
interest payments. On the maturity date of the trust beneficial
owners beneficial interest and the related series of
notes, the trust will redeem the principal amount of the related
series of notes and the principal amount of the trust beneficial
interest.
No Affiliation
None of us, PFG or any of our or its officers, directors,
subsidiaries or affiliates owns any beneficial interest in any
trust nor has any of these persons or entities entered into any
agreement with any trust other than in furtherance of the
issuance of notes from time to time as contemplated by this
prospectus.
None of us, PFG or any of our or its officers, directors,
subsidiaries or affiliates is affiliated with the trustee, the
trust beneficial owner or the indenture trustee relating to the
notes.
Recordkeeping
Each trust will:
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maintain separate and distinct records; and |
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hold and account for the assets associated with each such trust
separately from the assets of any other trust, us or PFG. |
On behalf of the trusts, as depositor, we will be subject to
certain reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended.
Expenses
We have entered into a separate expense and indemnity agreement
with each of the indenture trustee, the custodian (see
Description of the Notes Collateral),
the trust beneficial owner and the trustee (on behalf of itself
and each trust to be formed in connection with the issuance of a
series of notes). We will enter into an expense and indemnity
agreement with additional service providers appointed from time
to time. Under each expense and indemnity agreement, we will pay
certain costs and expenses relating to the offering, sale,
issuance and administration of any series of notes and certain
costs, expenses and taxes incurred by a trust and will indemnify
the indenture trustee, the custodian, the trust beneficial
owner, the trustee, each trust and additional service providers
with respect to certain matters. Forms of each expense and
indemnity agreement have been filed as exhibits to the
registration statement (which includes this prospectus) and are
incorporated into this prospectus by reference. Executed copies
of each expense and indemnity agreement may be inspected during
normal business hours at our principal executive offices set
forth on the cover page of this prospectus. See Fees and
Expenses below.
Amendment
The trust agreement may be amended by the trustee and the trust
beneficial owner:
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in any way that is not inconsistent with the intent of the trust
agreement and that does not adversely affect, in any material
respect, the terms of any notes; |
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with the prior consent of the holders of a majority of the
outstanding principal amount of affected notes, in any way that
would adversely affect, in any material respect, the terms of
any such notes; and |
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with the prior consent of each affected holder, to
(1) change the amount or timing of any payment of any trust
beneficial interest or series of notes or (2) impair the
right of the trust beneficial owner or any noteholder to
institute suit for the enforcement of any right for principal
and interest or other distribution. |
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Subject to the second and third bullet points above, the trustee
and the trust beneficial owner may amend the trust agreement,
without the consent of any noteholder, at any time to the extent
necessary to ensure that the applicable trust will be
disregarded or treated as a grantor trust (assuming that any
such trust were not disregarded) for United States federal
income tax purposes or to ensure that the applicable trust will
not be required to register as an investment company under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. We shall advise each
rating agency that is then rating the program or any series of
notes of any such amendment.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES
The following is a general description of the terms of the
notes. We will provide specific terms of a series of notes in
the applicable prospectus supplement and a pricing supplement to
this prospectus. For purposes of this prospectus, business
day shall have the meaning set forth in the applicable
prospectus supplement or the applicable pricing supplement.
Each series of notes will be issued pursuant to an indenture,
between the applicable trust and Citibank, N.A., as indenture
trustee (the indenture trustee), which will adopt
and incorporate the standard indenture terms in its entirety.
The indenture is included in the form of omnibus instrument.
Copies of the form of standard indenture terms and the form of
omnibus instrument (including the form of indenture) are filed
as exhibits to the registration statement (of which this
prospectus is a part) and is incorporated into this prospectus
by reference. With respect to a particular trust, we refer to
the applicable indenture and the standard indenture terms as the
indenture. The following summary highlights some of
the provisions of the indenture, but it may not contain all of
the information that is important to you. We do not restate the
indenture in its entirety and we urge you to read the indenture,
which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of
which this prospectus forms a part.
General
Except as described in the applicable prospectus supplement or
the applicable pricing supplement, the indenture does not limit
the amount of notes that a trust may issue, and a trust may only
issue notes in one series. A series of notes will be the
trusts unconditional, direct, non-recourse, secured and
unsubordinated obligations. Each series of notes will be secured
by a funding agreement relating to that series of notes and the
related guarantee issued by PFG.
The notes may be offered to institutional or retail investors.
Notes offered to institutional investors will be offered under
the prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating to our
secured medium-term notes program. These notes:
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may bear interest at a fixed rate or floating rate or bear no
interest at all; |
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may be amortizing notes, meaning that a portion or all of the
principal amount is payable prior to the stated maturity in
accordance with a schedule or by application of a formula; |
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may be discount notes that do not bear interest currently or
bear interest at a rate that is below market rates at the time
of issuance; |
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may have redemption and/or repayment provisions, if applicable,
whether mandatory or at the option of the trust or the holders
of the notes; |
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will not contain a survivors option, permitting optional
repayment of notes of a series of notes, subject to certain
limitations, prior to maturity, if requested, following the
death of the beneficial owner of notes of that series of notes; |
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may be denominated in U.S. dollars or one or more foreign
currencies; and |
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may provide for the payment of additional amounts relating to
any required withholding if specified in the applicable pricing
supplement. |
Each fixed rate note offered to institutional investors will
bear interest at the rate specified in the applicable pricing
supplement. Each floating rate note offered to institutional
investors will bear interest at a rate determined by reference
to one or more of the following interest rate bases, which will
be specified in the applicable pricing supplement:
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the CD Rate; |
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the CMT Rate; |
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the Commercial Paper Rate; |
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the Constant Maturity Swap Rate; |
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the Eleventh District Cost of Funds Rate; |
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the Federal Funds Open Rate; |
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the Federal Funds Rate; |
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LIBOR; |
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EURIBOR; |
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the Prime Rate; or |
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the Treasury Rate. |
These interest rate bases are further described in the
prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating to our secured
medium-term notes program.
Notes offered to retail investors will be offered under the
prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating to the
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program or the prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating
to the secured medium-term notes retail program. These notes:
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may bear interest at a fixed rate or floating rate as specified
in the applicable prospectus supplement (see Description
of the Notes in the applicable prospectus supplement) or
bear no interest at all; |
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will not be amortizing notes; |
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may be discount notes that do not bear interest currently or
bear interest at a rate that is below market rates at the time
of issuance; |
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may have redemption and/or repayment provisions, if applicable,
whether mandatory or at the option of the trust or the holders
of the notes; |
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may contain a survivors option, permitting optional
repayment of notes of a series of notes, subject to certain
limitations, prior to maturity, if requested, following the
death of the beneficial owner of notes of that series of notes; |
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will be denominated in U.S. dollars only; and |
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will not provide for the payment of additional amounts relating
to any required withholding under any circumstances. |
Each fixed rate note offered to retail investors will bear
interest at the rate specified in the applicable pricing
supplement. Each floating rate note offered to retail investors
will bear interest at a rate determined by reference to one or
more of the following interest rate bases, which will be
specified in the applicable pricing supplement:
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the CD Rate; |
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the CMT Rate; |
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the Commercial Paper Rate; |
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the Constant Maturity Swap Rate; |
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the Federal Funds Open Rate; |
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the Federal Funds Rate; |
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LIBOR; |
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the Prime Rate; or |
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the Treasury Rate. |
These interest rate bases are further described in the
prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating to the
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program or the prospectus supplement to this prospectus relating
to the secured medium-term notes retail program.
At the time of sale of a series of notes, at least one
nationally recognized statistical rating organization will have
rated the notes in one of its generic rating categories which
signifies investment grade.
Material United States federal income tax considerations
relating to the notes will be described in the applicable
prospectus supplement.
Each indenture and the notes will be governed by the internal
laws of the State of New York.
Collateral
Under the indenture, the funding agreement issued to and
deposited into a trust by us in exchange for the proceeds
received by the trust from the offering of its series of notes
will be collaterally assigned by the trust, and the trust will
grant a security interest in the funding agreement, to the
indenture trustee for the benefit of the holders of the related
series of notes. The trust will also collaterally assign and
grant a security interest in the guarantee issued by PFG to the
trust in favor of the indenture trustee for the benefit of the
holders of the related series of notes. Accordingly, each series
of notes will be secured by a perfected security interest in the
collateral, consisting of:
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the relevant funding agreement held in the relevant trust; |
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the guarantee issued by PFG to the trust, which fully and
unconditionally guarantees our payment obligations under the
relevant funding agreement; |
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all proceeds of the relevant funding agreement and the relevant
guarantee and all amounts and instruments on deposit from time
to time in the related collection account; |
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all books and records pertaining to the relevant funding
agreement and the related guarantee; and |
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all of the trusts rights pertaining to the foregoing. |
Under the custodial agreement entered into among the indenture
trustee, Bankers Trust Company, N.A. (the custodian)
and the trustee (on behalf of each trust to be formed in
connection with the issuance of a series of notes), upon the
collateral assignment of and grant of security interest in the
funding agreement and the guarantee related to a series of notes
of a trust, the custodian will hold the funding agreement and
the guarantee, on behalf of the indenture trustee in the State
of Iowa.
Covenants
Under the indenture, the trust will make certain covenants to
the indenture trustee for the benefit of noteholders. In
addition, the indenture requires the trust to hold funds in
trust for payments under the notes, pay to the indenture
trustee, acting in its capacity as servicer, principal, interest
and premium (if any) due on the notes and take all necessary
action to protect the collateral. Further, the trust is
obligated to deliver to the indenture trustee an annual
statement certifying its compliance with the conditions,
performance of obligations and adherence to covenants under the
indenture. In addition to its other covenants, the trust has
agreed that it will not, so long as any notes of its series are
outstanding, take any of the following actions, except as
otherwise permitted by the indenture:
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sell, transfer, exchange, assign, lease, convey or otherwise
dispose of any assets held by the trust (owned as of the date of
the trust agreement or thereafter acquired), including, without
limitation, any portion of the relevant collateral; |
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incur or otherwise become liable, directly or indirectly, for
any debt obligation except for the notes of its series and the
transactions contemplated thereby; |
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engage in any business or activity other than in connection
with, or relating to, (1) the performance of the trust
agreement and the execution, delivery and performance of any
documents (other than the trust agreement), including the
indenture, the funding agreement, the guarantee, the license
agreement to be entered into between the trust and PFS (the
license agreement), the distribution agreement to be
entered into among the trust, us, PFG and our agents and dealers
(the distribution agreement), the expense and
indemnity agreements and any other documents or instruments
entered into by, or with respect to, the trust (all documents
and instruments including the trust agreement are referred to
herein collectively as the Program Documents),
relating to any notes of its series issued under the indenture
and the transactions contemplated thereby, and (2) the
issuance of notes of its series pursuant to the indenture; |
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(1) permit the validity or effectiveness of the indenture
or any grant of security interest in or assignment for
collateral purposes of the applicable collateral to be impaired,
or permit a lien created under the indenture to be amended,
hypothecated, subordinated, terminated or discharged, or permit
any person or entity to be released from any covenants or
obligations under any document or agreement assigned to the
indenture trustee, except as may be expressly permitted thereby,
(2) create, incur, assume or permit any lien or other
encumbrance (other than the lien created under the indenture) on
any of its properties or assets owned or hereafter acquired, or
any interest therein or the proceeds thereof or (3) permit
a lien created under the indenture not to constitute a valid
first priority perfected security interest in the applicable
collateral; |
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amend, modify or fail to comply with any material provision of
the trust agreement except for any amendment or modification of
the trust agreement expressly permitted thereunder; |
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own any subsidiary or lend or advance any funds to, or make any
investment in, any person, except for an investment in a funding
agreement or the investment of any of its funds held by the
indenture trustee, the paying agent, or the trustee, as provided
in the indenture or the trust agreement; |
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directly or indirectly declare or make any distribution or other
payment to, or redeem or otherwise acquire or retire for value
the interest of, the trust beneficial owner if any amount under
the related series of notes is due and unpaid, or directly or
indirectly redeem or otherwise acquire or retire for value any
debt other than such series of notes; |
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cause or permit the sale or other transfer of all or a portion
of any trust beneficial interest, or cause or permit the
creation, incurrence, assumption or existence of any lien on all
or a portion of any trust beneficial interest; |
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exercise any rights with respect to the relevant collateral
except at the written direction of, or with the prior written
approval of, the indenture trustee; |
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become an investment company or come under the
control of an investment company, as
such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended; |
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enter into any transaction of merger or consolidation or
liquidate or dissolve itself (or suffer any liquidation or
dissolution), or acquire by purchase or otherwise all or
substantially all the business or assets of, or any stock or
other evidence of beneficial ownership of, any other person; |
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take any action that would cause the trust not to be disregarded
or treated as a grantor trust (assuming such trust were not
disregarded) for United States federal income tax purposes; |
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have any subsidiaries, employees or agents other than the
trustee and other persons necessary to conduct its activities
and enter into transactions contemplated under the Program
Documents; |
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have an interest in any bank account other than (1) the
accounts required under the Program Documents and (2) those
accounts expressly permitted by the indenture trustee, provided
that any interest therein shall be charged or otherwise secured
in favor of the indenture trustee; |
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issue any notes unless |
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the trust has purchased, or will simultaneously purchase in
connection with the issuance of a series of notes, a funding
agreement from us to secure such notes, the payment obligations
of which will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by PFG; |
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we have affirmed to the trust in writing that we have made or
simultaneously will make changes to our books and records to
reflect the granting by the trust of a security interest in, and
the making by the trust of an assignment for collateral purposes
of, the relevant funding agreement to the indenture trustee with
respect to a series of notes; |
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PFG has issued the guarantee to the trust and the trust has
collaterally assigned and granted a security interest in the
guarantee in favor of the indenture trustee for the benefit of
the holders of such notes; and |
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the trust has taken such other steps as may be necessary to
cause the indenture trustees grant of such security
interest in, and assignment for collateral purposes of, the
relevant funding agreement and other collateral, including the
relevant guarantee, to be perfected for purposes of the Uniform
Commercial Code or effective against the trusts creditors
or subsequent purchasers of the relevant funding agreement and
collateral pursuant to insurance or other applicable law; |
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permit any affiliate, employee, officer or agent of us or PFG or
any dealer or agent appointed under the distribution agreement
to be a trustee of the trust; |
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commingle its assets with the assets of any affiliates or any
other trust or guarantee any obligation of any of its affiliates
or any other trust; or |
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maintain any joint account with any person or entity, become a
party, whether as co-obligor or otherwise, to any agreement to
which any person or entity is a party (other than in respect of
the Program Documents), or become liable as a guarantor or
otherwise with respect to any debt or contractual obligation of
any person or entity. |
Events of Default
Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default (as defined below),
the notes may become due and payable at an amount equal to the
outstanding principal amount plus accrued but unpaid interest
and any other amounts payable or, if such notes are non-interest
bearing, the amortized face amount of such notes or such other
redemption amount as may be specified in the applicable pricing
supplement.
The following will be Events of Default under the notes of any
series:
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the trusts failure to pay the principal (other than any
installment payment), when due and payable, of any note of such
series and continuance of such failure for a period of one
business day; |
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the trusts failure to pay any interest, premium, if
applicable, installment payments (if applicable) or any other
amounts, when due and payable, on any note of such series and
continuance of such failure for a period of seven business days; |
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any Event of Default (as defined in the funding
agreement related to such series of notes) by us under the
funding agreement securing the notes of such series (see
Description of the Funding Agreements Funding
Agreement Events of Default); |
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the trusts failure to observe or perform in any material
respect any covenant contained in the indenture (other than
those listed in the first, second and, if applicable, eighth
bullet points herein) or the notes of such series for a period
of 60 days after the date on which the indenture trustee
provides the trust written notice by registered or certified
mail, return receipt requested, specifying such failure, or the
holder(s) of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the
notes of the series provide the trust and the indenture trustee
written notice in the same manner, specifying such failure and
requiring such failure to be remedied and stating that it is a
notice of default; |
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the indenture ceases to be in full force and effect (other then
in accordance with its terms) or is declared null and void, or
the indenture trustee fails to have or maintain a validly
created and perfected security interest subject to no prior
liens or security interests in the collateral required to secure
the notes of such series, or any person successfully claims as
finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that any
lien with respect to the collateral is void or that the
enforcement of such lien or any other recourse by the indenture
trustee is materially limited because of any preference,
fraudulent transfer, conveyance or similar law; |
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either (1) a court having jurisdiction in the premises
shall enter a decree or order for relief in respect of the trust
or the relevant collateral in an involuntary case under any
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law now or
hereafter in effect in the applicable jurisdiction, which decree
or order is not stayed, or any other similar relief shall be
granted under any applicable law, or (2) an involuntary case
shall be commenced against the trust or the relevant collateral
under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law
of the applicable jurisdiction, or a decree or order of a court
having jurisdiction in the premises for the appointment of a
receiver, liquidator, sequestrator, trustee, custodian or other
officer having similar powers over the trust or the relevant
collateral, or over all or a substantial part of its property,
shall have been entered, or there shall have occurred the
involuntary appointment of an interim receiver, trustee or other
custodian of the trust or the relevant collateral for all or a
substantial part of the trusts property, or a court having
jurisdiction in the premises shall enter a decree or order
declaring the dissolution of the trust, or a warrant of
attachment, execution or similar process shall have been issued
against any substantial part of the trusts property and
any such event described in this clause (2) shall continue
for 60 days unless dismissed, bonded or discharged; |
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either (1) the trust shall have an order for relief entered
with respect to the trust or shall commence a voluntary case
under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law
of the applicable jurisdiction, or shall consent to the entry of
an order for relief in an involuntary case, or to the conversion
of an involuntary case to a voluntary case, under any such law,
or shall consent to the appointment of or taking possession by a
receiver, trustee or other custodian for all or a substantial
part of the trusts property, or the trust shall make any
assignment for the benefit of creditors, or (2) the trust
shall fail or be unable, or the trust admits in writing the
trusts inability, to pay the trusts debts as such
debts become due, or the trustee shall adopt any resolution or
otherwise authorize any action to approve or for the purpose of
effecting any of the actions referred to in this
paragraph; or |
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any other Event of Default provided in any pricing supplement
and the applicable notes of such series or the indenture. |
When an Event of Default specified in the fourth, fifth or
eighth bullet point above shall have occurred and be continuing,
the indenture trustee or the holder(s) of at least 25% in
aggregate principal amount of the outstanding notes of the
affected series may, by written notice to the trust and the
indenture
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trustee (if applicable), declare the principal of and all
accrued and unpaid interest and any other amounts payable on the
notes of such series to be due and payable. Such amounts shall
become due and payable on the date the written declaration is
received by the trust. This provision, however, is subject to
the condition that, at any time after the principal of the notes
of such series shall have been so declared due and payable, and
before any judgment or decree for the payment of the monies due
shall have been obtained or entered, the holder(s) of at least
662/3%
in aggregate principal amount of the notes of such series then
outstanding by written notice to the trust and the indenture
trustee may rescind and annul such declaration and its
consequences with respect solely to such series, subject to
certain conditions, but no such rescission and annulment shall
affect any subsequent default or shall impair any right
consequent thereon. If an Event of Default specified in the
first, second, third, sixth or seventh bullet point above
occurs, the principal of and accrued and unpaid interest and any
other amounts payable on the notes of such series will be
immediately due and payable without any declaration or other
action by the trust, the indenture trustee or the holder of any
note.
The Events of Default described above (other than the Event of
Default specified in the third bullet point above) are different
from the funding agreement defaults described later in this
prospectus under the heading Description of the Funding
Agreements. In certain circumstances, an Event of Default
may occur and give rise to an acceleration of principal and
interest on the notes of a series without there being a
corresponding funding agreement default and acceleration of
payment obligations under the related funding agreement. In such
a case, there would be no or limited funds available to pay the
accelerated principal and interest under the notes. In such a
case, the indenture trustee, acting for the benefit of the
holders of the applicable series of notes, will be limited to a
proceeding against the funding agreement and the related
collateral. However, because under such circumstances we would
not be under any obligation to accelerate our payment
obligations under the funding agreement, the indenture trustee
could only:
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continue to receive scheduled periodic payments under the
collateral, including any applicable funding agreement; |
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dispose of the collateral, including the funding agreement,
subject to obtaining our consent; or |
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exercise any combination of the foregoing. |
Any such disposition of collateral could be made on unfavorable
terms and result in material losses to the holders of the
applicable series of notes.
An event of default under the PFG guarantee relating to a series
of notes will not be an Event of Default with respect to such
series of notes or under the indenture.
We shall advise each rating agency that is then rating the
program or any series of notes of any such Event of Default.
Application of Money Collected Under the Indenture
On or prior to the issue date of a series of notes, we will
establish a collection account with the indenture trustee in the
name of the trust. This account shall collect payments received
under the applicable funding agreement for the benefit of the
related noteholders and shall be segregated from any other
account maintained by the indenture trustee.
Following an Event of Default and during the continuance
thereof, with respect to a series of notes, any moneys that may
then be held or thereafter received by the indenture trustee as
security with respect to the notes of such series shall be held
in the relevant collection account and shall be applied in the
following order, at the dates and manner fixed by the indenture
trustee:
first, to the payment of the reasonable and customary
expenses and counsel fees incurred by the indenture trustee and
any other amounts due and unpaid to the indenture trustee by the
trust, in an
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aggregate amount of no more than $250,000 for all series of
notes issued by all trusts outstanding, to the extent not paid
pursuant to the expense and indemnity agreements;
second, to the payment of the amounts then due and unpaid
upon the notes of the relevant series for principal and interest
and all other amounts in respect of which or for the benefit of
which such amount has been collected, ratably, without
preference or priority of any kind, according to the aggregate
principal amounts due and payable on such notes; and
third, any remaining balance shall be paid to the trust
and such remaining balance shall be distributed by the trustee
in accordance with the trust agreement as described under
Description of the Trusts Application of Money
Received by the Trustee on Behalf of a Trust.
If no Event of Default exists, the following priority of
payments shall apply:
first, to the payment of the amounts then due and unpaid
upon the notes of the relevant series for principal and interest
and all other amounts in respect of which or for the benefit of
which such amount has been collected, ratably, without
preference or priority of any kind, according to the aggregate
principal amounts due and payable on such notes; and
second, any remaining balance shall be paid to the trust
and such remaining balance shall be distributed by the trustee
in accordance with the trust agreement as described under
Description of the Trusts Application of Money
Received by the Trustee on Behalf of a Trust.
We will pay the costs and expenses incurred by a trust under the
expense and indemnity agreements with each of the indenture
trustee, the custodian, the trust beneficial owner and the
trustee (on behalf of itself and the trust) and any additional
service provider appointed from time to time. See Fees and
Expenses.
Except as expressly set forth in the indenture, none of the
indenture trustee, any paying agent, registrar or any of their
successors, employees, officers, directors, affiliates or agents
shall have any claim or rights of any nature in or to the
relevant collateral, whether as a result of set-off,
bankers lien or otherwise.
Certain Rights of Holders
The holder(s) of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
notes of any series at the time outstanding, who provide the
indenture trustee with indemnification satisfactory to the
indenture trustee, shall have the right to direct the time,
method, and place of conducting any proceeding for exercising
any remedy available to the indenture trustee or exercising any
trust or power conferred on the indenture trustee by the
indenture, in each case solely in respect of such series of
notes, including with respect to the collateral, provided,
however, that such direction shall not be in conflict with any
rule of law or the indenture and the indenture trustee may take
any other action deemed proper by the indenture trustee that is
not inconsistent with such direction.
No holder of the notes of a series shall have any right to
institute any proceedings, judicial or otherwise, with respect
to the indenture or any agreement or instrument included in the
collateral for such series of notes or for the appointment of a
receiver or trustee, unless:
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such holder has previously given written notice to the indenture
trustee of a continuing Event of Default with respect to such
series of notes; |
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the holder(s) of notes representing not less than 25% of the
aggregate principal amount of the outstanding notes of such
series shall have made written request to the indenture trustee
to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default in
its own name as the indenture trustee; |
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such holder(s) have offered to the indenture trustee indemnity
or security satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and
liabilities to be reasonably incurred in compliance with such
request; |
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the indenture trustee for 60 days after its receipt of such
notice, request and offer of indemnity has failed to institute
any such proceeding; and |
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no direction inconsistent with such written request has been
given to the indenture trustee during such 60 day period by
the holder(s) of notes of any series representing at least
662/3%
of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding notes of
such series. |
With respect to the above, no holder(s) of notes shall have any
right in any manner whatever by virtue of, or by availing of,
any provision of the indenture to affect, disturb or prejudice
the rights of any other holder of any note of the relevant
series or to obtain or to seek to obtain priority or preference
over any other holder of any note of the relevant series to
enforce any right under the indenture, except in the manner
therein provided and for the equal and ratable benefit of all
the holders of the notes of the relevant series.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in the notes of the
relevant series or the indenture will prevent any relevant
holder from enforcing its right to receive payment of the
principal of and interest on such notes, or any other amount
payable under such notes or the indenture, when and to the
extent such payments become due and such rights will not be
impaired without the consent of such holder.
Since we and PFG are registrants, purchasers of notes may
proceed directly against us and PFG to enforce their rights
under the United States federal and state securities laws. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against us, with respect to
the applicable funding agreement, under the United States
federal and state securities laws is no different than if we had
issued the funding agreement directly to such purchasers. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against PFG, with respect to
the applicable guarantee, under the United States federal and
state securities laws is no different than if PFG had issued the
guarantee directly to such purchasers.
Reports to Holders
Pursuant to the terms of each indenture, within ten days
following any distribution made or scheduled to be made on the
notes, the indenture trustee shall deliver to us a report that
contains the relevant payment information, the current principal
amount of the notes and applicable funding agreement and the
compensation received by the indenture trustee during the period
relating to such payment. As depositor, we will file this report
as an exhibit to the distribution report on
Form 10-D within
fifteen days of the distribution date. As depositor, we will
also file an annual report with respect to each trust on
Form 10-K. For
information on receiving copies of these reports, see
Where You Can Find More Information above.
In accordance with the terms of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939,
as amended, the indenture trustee will be required to transmit
to holders of notes reports with respect to certain matters,
including any changes to the eligibility and qualifications of
the indenture trustee, conflicting interests of the indenture
trustee, any unpaid advances made by the indenture trustee, and
any actions by the indenture trustee that materially affect the
applicable notes or collateral. A copy of each such report
shall, at the time of such transmission to holders of notes, be
filed with each stock exchange upon which the applicable note
may be listed, and also with the SEC.
Modifications and Amendments
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Modifications and Amendments Without Consent of
Holders |
The trust may enter into a supplemental indenture with the
indenture trustee at any time, without the consent of any holder
of notes, for the purpose of:
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curing any ambiguity or correcting or supplementing any
provision contained in the indenture, the notes of the relevant
series or any supplemental indenture, which may be defective or
inconsistent with any other provision contained in the
indenture, the notes of that series, the relevant supplemental
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Program Documents, which shall not materially adversely affect
the interests of any holder of the relevant series of notes; |
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adding to the trusts covenants or those of the indenture
trustee for the benefit of the holders of the applicable series
of notes or to surrender any right or power conferred in the
indenture on the trust; |
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adding any additional Events of Default to the indenture; |
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evidencing and providing for the acceptance of appointment by a
successor indenture trustee with respect to the notes of the
applicable series and to add to or change any of the provisions
of the indenture as shall be necessary to provide for or
facilitate the administration of the trust or the applicable
series of notes under the indenture by more than one trustee; |
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providing for the issuance of and establishing the forms and
terms and conditions of notes of the applicable series; or |
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establishing the form of any certifications required to be
furnished pursuant to the terms of the indenture or the
applicable series of notes. |
We shall advise each rating agency that is then rating the
program or any series of notes of any such supplemental
indenture.
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Modifications and Amendments With Consent of
Holders |
The trust and the indenture trustee may enter into one or more
supplemental indentures for the purpose of making any amendment
or modification to the notes of the applicable series or the
indenture or modifying in any manner the rights of any holder of
notes with consent of the holder(s) representing a majority in
aggregate principal amount of the notes of the applicable series
at the time outstanding. However, no such supplemental indenture
may, without the affirmative consent or affirmative vote of the
holder of each note of the applicable series affected thereby:
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change the stated maturity of the principal of or any
installment of interest on any note of the applicable series; |
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reduce the principal amount of or interest on any note of the
applicable series; |
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change any place of payment where, or the coin or currency in
which the principal of or interest on, any note of the
applicable series is payable; |
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impair or affect the right of any holder of the applicable
series to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment on
or with respect to the notes of the applicable series; |
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reduce the percentage of the aggregate principal amount of the
outstanding notes of the applicable series the consent of the
holders of which is required for any supplemental indenture, or
the consent of the holders of which is required for any waiver
of compliance with provisions of the indenture or defaults
thereunder and their consequences provided for in the indenture; |
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modify any of the provisions of the indenture respecting
modifications and amendments, except to increase any percentage
specified in the indenture or to provide that additional
provisions of the indenture cannot be modified or waived without
the consent of the holder of each outstanding note of the
applicable series; |
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modify or alter the provisions of the definition of
Outstanding in the indenture; |
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modify or affect in any manner adverse to the interest of any
holder of notes of the applicable series the terms and
conditions of the applicable trusts obligations regarding
the |
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due and punctual payment of the principal of, interest on or any
other amounts due with respect to the notes of such
series; or |
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permit the creation of any lien ranking prior to or on a parity
with the lien of such indenture with respect to any part of the
collateral of the applicable series of notes or terminate the
lien of such indenture on any property held for the benefit and
security of holders of notes of the applicable series or deprive
the holder or any note of the applicable series of the security
afforded by the collateral. |
We shall advise each rating agency that is then rating the
program or any series of notes of any such supplemental
indenture.
The trust will not enter into any supplemental indenture with
the indenture trustee (either with or without the consent of the
holders of notes) that would cause any trust not to be
disregarded or treated as a grantor trust (assuming any such
trust were not disregarded) for United States federal income tax
purposes.
Indenture Trustee and Servicer
Under the indenture, if an Event of Default with respect to the
applicable series of notes has occurred and is continuing, the
indenture trustee is obligated to exercise such of the rights
and powers vested in it by the indenture, and to use the same
degree of care and skill in their exercise, as a prudent person
would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of
his or her own affairs.
Except during the continuance of an Event of Default, the
indenture provides that the indenture trustee shall perform only
those duties that are specifically set forth therein, and no
implied covenants or obligations of the indenture trustee will
be read into the indenture.
No provision of the indenture will be construed to relieve the
indenture trustee from liability for its own negligent action,
its own negligent failure to act or its own bad faith or willful
misconduct, except that:
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this paragraph does not limit the effect of the immediately
preceding paragraph; |
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the indenture trustee may in good faith rely, as to the truth of
the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed
therein, upon certificates or opinions furnished to the
indenture trustee and conforming to the requirements of the
indenture unless a responsible officer (as defined
in the indenture) of the indenture trustee has actual knowledge
that such statements or opinions are false, provided that the
indenture trustee must examine such certificates and opinions to
determine whether they conform to the requirements of the
indenture; |
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the indenture trustee will not be liable for any error of
judgment made in good faith by a responsible officer, unless it
is proved that the indenture trustee was negligent in
ascertaining the pertinent facts; |
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the indenture trustee will not be liable with respect to any
action it takes or omits to take in good faith in accordance
with the direction of the holders of notes representing a
majority of the aggregate principal amount of the notes of the
applicable series then outstanding (or if an Event of Default
under the notes has occurred and the holders direct the
indenture trustee to take action as described under
Certain Rights of Holders above)
relating to the time, method and place of conducting any
proceeding for any remedy available to the indenture trustee, or
exercising any trust or power conferred upon the indenture
trustee, under the indenture; and |
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no provision of the indenture requires the indenture trustee to
expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial
liability in the performance of any of its duties thereunder, or
in the exercise of any of its rights or powers, if it shall have
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believing that repayment of such funds or adequate indemnity
against such risk or liability is not reasonably assured to it. |
The indenture trustee may resign at any time by giving not less
than 60 days prior written notice thereof to the
trust and the holders of the applicable series of notes. If no
successor indenture trustee shall have accepted appointment
within 30 days after the giving of such notice of
resignation, the resigning indenture trustee may petition any
court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a
successor indenture trustee.
If at any time:
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the indenture trustee shall cease to be eligible to serve as
indenture trustee under the requirements of the indenture and
shall fail to resign after written request by the trust or any
applicable holder of notes of such series (who has been a bona
fide holder of a note for at least six months); |
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the indenture trustee shall become incapable of acting with
respect to the applicable series of notes or shall be adjudged
as bankrupt or insolvent, or a receiver or liquidator of the
indenture trustee or of its property shall be appointed, or any
public officer shall take charge or control of the indenture
trustee or of its property or affairs for the purpose of
rehabilitation, conservation or liquidation; or |
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the indenture trustee shall fail to comply with the obligations
imposed upon it under Section 310(b) of the Trust Indenture
Act of 1939, as amended, with respect to the applicable series
of notes after written request by the trust or any applicable
holder of notes of such series (who has been a bona fide holder
of a note for at least six months); |
then, the trust (except upon the occurrence and during the
continuation of an Event of Default) may petition any court of
competent jurisdiction to remove the indenture trustee with
respect to such series of notes and appoint a successor
indenture trustee.
In addition to the right of petition given to the resigning
indenture trustee and the right of removal given to the trust
pursuant to the preceding paragraphs, any holder who has been a
bona fide holder of notes of the applicable series for at least
six months may, on behalf of itself and all others similarly
situated, petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the
appointment of a successor indenture trustee or the removal of
the indenture trustee and the appointment of a successor
indenture trustee, as the case may be.
Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the notes
of the applicable series at the time outstanding may at any time
remove the indenture trustee with respect to the notes of the
applicable series and appoint a successor indenture trustee with
respect to the notes of the applicable series by delivering to
the indenture trustee so removed, to the successor indenture
trustee so appointed and to the trust the evidence required for
such action by the indenture.
If the indenture trustee resigns, is removed or becomes
incapable of acting, or if a vacancy occurs in the office of the
indenture trustee for any reason, the trust shall promptly
appoint a successor indenture trustee. If, within one year after
such resignation, removal or incapability or the occurrence of
such vacancy, a successor indenture trustee shall be appointed
by holders of notes representing a majority in aggregate
principal amount of the outstanding notes of the applicable
series delivered to the trust and the retiring indenture
trustee, the successor indenture trustee so appointed shall,
upon its acceptance of such appointment, become the successor
indenture trustee and supersede the successor indenture trustee
appointed by the trust.
The indenture trustee and each successor indenture trustee must
be a United States person within the meaning of
section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.
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With respect to any series of notes as to which affiliates of
the indenture trustee will serve as Agent, the relevant trust
will appoint an eligible and unauthorized entity to serve as
indenture trustee with respect to such series of notes, instead
of the indenture trustee.
Citibank, N.A., in its capacities as indenture trustee, paying
agent, registrar, transfer agent and calculation agent under
each indenture, will act as servicer under the program.
Citibank, N.A. is a national banking association and wholly
owned subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., a Delaware corporation.
Citibank, N.A. performs as indenture trustee through the
Agency and Trust line of business, which is part of the Global
Transaction Services division. Citibank, N.A. has primary
corporate trust offices located in both New York and London.
Citibank, N.A. is a leading provider of corporate trust
services offering a full range of agency, fiduciary, tender and
exchange, depositary and escrow services. Citibanks Agency
& Trust group manages in excess of 3 trillion in fixed
income and equity investments on behalf of
2,500 corporations worldwide. Since 1987, Citibank Agency
& Trust has provided trustee services for asset-backed
securities containing pool assets consisting of airplane leases,
auto loans and leases, boat loans, commercial loans,
commodities, credit cards, durable goods, equipment leases,
foreign securities, funding agreement backed note programs,
truck loans, utilities, student loans and commercial and
residential mortgages. Citibank, N.A. currently acts as
indenture trustee or paying agent for various funding agreement
backed programs with approximately 210 trusts outstanding.
Meetings of Holders
A meeting of holders of notes of the applicable series may be
called at any time and from time to time pursuant to the
indenture to make, give or take any request, demand,
authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other
action provided by the indenture to be made, given or taken by
such holders of such series of notes.
Unless otherwise provided in the notes of the applicable series,
the indenture trustee may at any time call a meeting of holders
of notes of the applicable series for any purpose specified in
the preceding paragraph, to be held at such time and at such
place in The City of New York or at such other place as the
indenture trustee shall determine. Notice of every meeting of
such holders of notes of the applicable series, setting forth
the time and the place of such meeting and in general terms the
action proposed to be taken at such meeting, must be given not
less than 21 nor more than 180 days prior to the date fixed
for the meeting.
Subject to the provisions under Modification
and Amendments above and Section 316 of the Trust
Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, any resolution passed or
decision taken at any meeting of holders of notes of the
applicable series duly held in accordance with the indenture
will be binding on all of the holders of notes of the applicable
series, whether or not such holders were present or represented
at the meeting.
Nonrecourse Enforcement
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the
indenture or the notes, other than as described below, none of
us, PFG, our or its officers, directors, affiliates, employees
or agents, the trust and none of its trustees, beneficial owners
(including the trust beneficial owner) or agents, or any of
their respective officers, directors, affiliates, employees or
agents, all of whom we refer to collectively in this prospectus
and the accompanying prospectus supplement as the
nonrecourse parties, will be personally liable for
the payment of any principal, interest or any other sums at any
time owing under the terms of any notes. If any Event of Default
shall occur with respect to a series of notes, the right of the
holder(s) of the notes of such series and the indenture trustee
on behalf of such holder(s) in connection with a claim on such
series of notes will be limited solely to a proceeding against
the collateral for such series of notes.
Neither such holder(s) nor the indenture trustee on behalf of
such holder(s) will have the right to proceed against the
nonrecourse parties or the assets of any other trust to enforce
the relevant series of notes (except that to the extent they
exercise their rights, if any, to seize the funding agreement
and the
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related guarantee securing the notes held by such holder(s),
they may enforce the funding agreement against us or the related
guarantee against PFG) or for any deficiency judgment remaining
after foreclosure of any property included in the collateral.
However, this will not in any manner or way constitute or be
deemed a release of the debt or other obligations evidenced by
the notes or otherwise affect or impair the enforceability
against the assets of the relevant trust of the collateral or
any other instrument or agreement evidencing, securing or
relating to the indebtedness or the obligations evidenced by the
notes. The holders of notes are not precluded from foreclosing
upon any property included in the collateral.
Enforcement of Rights Under Securities Law
Since we and PFG are registrants, purchasers of notes may
proceed directly against us and PFG to enforce their rights
under the United States federal and state securities laws. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against us, with respect to
the applicable funding agreement, under the United States
federal and state securities laws is no different than if we had
issued the funding agreement directly to such purchasers. The
right by such purchasers to proceed against PFG, with respect to
the applicable guarantee, under the United States federal and
state securities laws is no different than if PFG had issued the
guarantee directly to such purchasers.
Miscellaneous
All notices regarding notes may be sent by overnight courier or
first class mail (or equivalent) or (if posted to an overseas
address) by airmail, postage prepaid, to the registered owners
of the notes as their names appear in the note register
maintained by the registrar or, for book-entry notes, notice may
be given to The Depository Trust Company for communication by it
to its accountholders or by delivery.
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Governing Law; Submission to Jurisdiction |
The indenture and the notes of each series shall be governed by,
and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New
York, except to the extent that the validity or perfection of
the ownership of and security interest in the relevant funding
agreement and the related guarantee of the relevant trust or
remedies under the indenture in respect thereof may be governed
by the laws of a jurisdiction other than the State of New York.
All judicial proceedings brought against the trust or the
indenture trustee arising out of or relating to the indenture,
any note or any portion of the collateral may be brought in a
United States federal court of competent jurisdiction located in
New York City, the Borough of Manhattan, provided that the
pricing supplement for any series of notes may specify other
jurisdictions as to which the trust may consent to the
nonexclusive jurisdiction of its courts with respect to such
series of notes.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNDING AGREEMENTS
This section provides a summary of the material terms and
conditions of the funding agreements. Specific terms of a
funding agreement issued with respect to a series of notes and
the extent to which these general provisions apply to that
funding agreement will be provided in the applicable prospectus
supplement and pricing supplement to this prospectus. This
summary is not complete and you should read the detailed
provisions of the funding agreement. A form of the funding
agreement is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement
(of which this prospectus is a part) and is incorporated into
this prospectus by reference.
General
Each funding agreement will be issued by us to the applicable
trust and will be held separately as collateral by the indenture
trustee for the benefit of the holders of the related series of
notes. Each funding
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agreement will represent our unsecured obligation. Under each
funding agreement, the applicable trust shall pay us a deposit
in an amount equal to the issue price (expressed as a
percentage) of the notes multiplied by the aggregate principal
amount of the series of notes plus the aggregate amount of the
trust beneficial interest issued in connection with such funding
agreement plus accrued interest, if any, less any commission or
compensation payments due to any person. Such deposit shall be
made in the currency in which such notes are denominated. Upon
receipt of such deposit we shall then be obligated to establish
a bookkeeping account which will evidence our obligation under
the funding agreement. Unless otherwise specified in the
applicable pricing supplement, the initial deposit of such
obligation will be deemed to be equal to the aggregate face
amount of the notes of such series of notes plus the aggregate
amount of the trust beneficial interest and interest, if any,
will accrue on such balance at such rate and upon such terms as
is accruing on the applicable series of notes. Unless otherwise
specified in the applicable pricing supplement, for a funding
agreement securing a series of notes other than discount notes,
the aggregate of the deposits received pursuant to the funding
agreement (as specified in the applicable annex to such funding
agreement), less any withdrawals to make payments under such
funding agreement (other than additional amounts, if
applicable), plus any interest accrued pursuant to such funding
agreement, all as set forth in the applicable annex to such
funding agreement, is referred to as the fund.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement,
for a funding agreement securing a series of notes that are
discount notes, the aggregate of the deposits received pursuant
to the funding agreement (as specified in the applicable annex
to such funding agreement), less any withdrawals to make
payments under such funding agreement (other than additional
amounts, if applicable), plus any accrual of discount
(determined in accordance with the applicable series of notes),
plus, if applicable, any interest accrued pursuant to such
funding agreement, all as set forth in the applicable annex to
such funding agreement, is referred to as the fund.
The bookkeeping account established to evidence the fund is a
general account obligation and shall not be an obligation of any
of our separate accounts.
Under each funding agreement, we will be obligated to make or
cause to be made certain payments as are necessary to permit the
trust to meet in full its scheduled payment obligations under
the relevant series of notes. Therefore, the currency of
denomination, maturity, redemption, repayment and interest rate
provisions of the funding agreement issued by us to the trust
shall be structured so that the payments made by or at the
direction of us will enable the trust to meet its requisite
obligations under the relevant series of notes. The repayment of
principal on such funding agreement will occur at the stated
date of maturity of the funding agreement, or, under certain
circumstances specified by the terms of the funding agreement,
at a date or dates prior to maturity. Amounts received by a
trust in respect of interest or principal on a funding agreement
will be applied to all payments due the holders of notes of the
related series of notes and beneficial interest for that trust.
Each funding agreement provides that all such payments are
intended to be made without any United States tax withholding
obligations. Any amendment or modification to the terms of a
series of notes made after the effective date of the relevant
funding agreement will not affect our payment obligations
pursuant to the relevant funding agreement, unless such
amendment or modification has been consented to in writing by
us. Additional terms of each funding agreement will be described
in the applicable prospectus supplement and pricing supplement.
A funding agreement is a type of insurance company product in
which the purchaser, usually an institutional investor, pays the
insurance company a deposit and, in turn, receives scheduled
payments of principal and interest. The deposit we receive on
the issuance of a funding agreement will be part of our general
account and not allocated to any of our separate accounts. Our
general account is the account which contains all of our assets
and liabilities other than those held in our separate accounts.
(Separate accounts are segregated accounts which are established
for certain products that we sell. A separate account holds
assets and liabilities specifically related to one or more
products and segregates these assets and liabilities from the
assets and liabilities of all other separate accounts and the
assets and liabilities of our general account.) Since the
deposit made under any funding agreement will be part of our
general account, our obligations under each funding agreement
will be the obligations of our general account, rather than the
obligations of any separate account. As such, we will invest the
proceeds from the sale of funding agreements in a portfolio of
assets which along with our other general account assets will be
used to meet our contractual obligations under the funding
agreements and our other general account
36
obligations. We will earn the spread differential between the
cost of our obligations under the funding agreements and the
yield on our invested assets. We may periodically, consistent
with our past practice and subject to all applicable regulatory
restrictions on our insurance operations, dividend a portion of
the spread income to PFG.
We have established internal procedures to ensure that we
perform all of our payment obligations under the funding
agreements. A specific group of employees in our company will
monitor performance of our payment obligations under the funding
agreements and will promptly notify the indenture trustee in the
event we have not timely made payments under any funding
agreement. Under the applicable indenture, the calculation agent
will notify us of the amount of interest due on any notes prior
to any interest payment date. Additionally, in the event that we
fail timely to make any payment under the applicable funding
agreement and PFG fails timely to make any payment under the
related guarantee, the indenture trustee will notify us and PFG
of such failure and will have the right to enforce the rights of
noteholders contained in the indenture.
Unless otherwise set forth in the applicable pricing supplement,
the funding agreements will be rated AA by Standard &
Poors Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. We expect the funding agreements to be rated Aa2
by Moodys Investors Service, Inc.
(Moodys). The rating of the applicable funding
agreement by Moodys will be specified in the applicable
pricing supplement. Notes of a series will be issued only in the
event that, at the time of issuance of such series of notes, at
least one nationally recognized rating agency would assign an
investment grade rating to such series of notes and the funding
agreement securing such series of notes.
The trust will grant a security interest in and collaterally
assign the funding agreement relating to the applicable series
of notes to the indenture trustee as collateral to secure the
trusts obligations under that series of notes.
Priority
Each funding agreement is our unsecured obligation and, in the
event of our impairment or insolvency, the Iowa Insurance
Commissioner will be authorized and directed to commence
delinquency proceedings for the purpose of liquidating,
rehabilitating, reorganizing or conserving us pursuant to Iowa
Code Sections 507C.4, 507C.12, 507C.13, 507C.14 and
507C.16. In conducting delinquency proceedings, claims are
prioritized and an order of distribution is specified pursuant
to Iowa Code Section 507C.42. There are nine classes within
the priority scheme, with each successive class being fully
junior to the preceding class. Class 1 priority is given to
the costs and expenses of administration of the insurer during
the delinquency proceedings and Class 2 priority is given
to the claims of the insurers policyholders and guaranty
associations. Sidley Austin LLP, counsel to us and PFG, has
opined that, subject to the limitations, qualifications and
assumptions set forth in its opinion letter, in a properly
prepared and presented case, a court applying Iowa law would
conclude that loss claims of principal and interest in respect
of each funding agreement would be accorded Class 2
priority under Iowa Code Section 507C.42 and paid equally
in priority with our other policyholders.
Sidley Austin LLP has advised that its opinion is based on its
interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Iowa Code as
construed by relevant administrative and judicial authority.
However, the Iowa Code and regulations, interpretations and
decisions are subject to change, either prospectively or
retroactively, and many of the issues addressed in
counsels opinion depend upon a facts and circumstances
analysis that has received little or no administrative or
judicial consideration. Therefore, the Iowa Insurance
Commissioner, in his/her capacity as liquidator, rehabilitator
or otherwise, or the courts could disagree in whole or in part
with our analysis.
Iowa law would apply to our insolvency or receivership
proceedings. Sidley Austin LLP has advised that the statutory
liquidation priority accorded to funding agreements under Iowa
law does not clearly apply to any additional amounts required to
be paid (if specified in the applicable pricing supplement) as
may be necessary in order that the net amounts receivable by a
holder after any withholding or deduction under United States
tax law shall equal the respective amounts which would
37
have been receivable by such holder in the absence of such
withholding or deduction. Accordingly, Sidley Austin LLP has
advised that claims for such payments, if any, may not rank
equally with either life insurance policy and annuity claims or
funding agreement claims, but would rank at least equally with
the claims of our general creditors, which are given
Class 5 priority under Iowa Code Section 507C.42.
Sidley Austin LLP expressly disclaimed any opinion that claims
for such payments would be entitled to any greater priority.
The scope of the Sidley Austin LLP opinion regarding a
delinquency proceeding with respect to Principal Life is limited
to an Iowa delinquency proceeding under Iowa law and to only
those claims that are made in domiciliary proceedings in an Iowa
court. The opinion of Sidley Austin LLP recites basic facts with
respect to the transaction in which the funding agreement is to
be issued, and those facts are implicitly assumed in connection
with the rendering of the opinion. The limitations and
qualifications in the opinion are that it is limited to the
application of the law of the State of Iowa and federal law of
the United States and that the opinion is rendered solely as of
the date thereof.
In the event that the funding agreements were not accorded
Class 2 priority in our insolvency, the funding agreements
would be accorded the lower priority associated with our general
unsecured obligations. Our payment obligations under the funding
agreements are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by PFG. See
Description of the Guarantees.
Funding Agreement Events of Default
Each of the following events will constitute an event of default
(a funding agreement default) under each funding
agreement:
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we shall fail to make any payment of interest, premium (if
applicable), installment payments (if applicable) or additional
amounts (if and as specified in the annex to such funding
agreement) in accordance with the funding agreement, if such
failure to pay is not corrected within seven business days after
it becomes due and payable; |
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we shall fail to make any payment of principal (other than any
installment payment) in accordance with the funding agreement,
if such failure to pay is not corrected within one business day
after it becomes due and payable; or |
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if we: (a) are dissolved (other than pursuant to a
consolidation, amalgamation or merger in which the resulting
entity assumes our obligations); (b) become insolvent or
are unable to pay our debts or fail or admit in writing our
inability generally to pay our debts as they become due;
(c) make a general assignment, arrangement or composition
with or for the benefit of our creditors; (d) institute or
have instituted against us an administrative or legal proceeding
seeking a judgment of insolvency or bankruptcy or any other
relief under any supervision, rehabilitation, liquidation,
bankruptcy or insolvency law or other similar law affecting
creditors rights, or a petition is presented for our
winding-up or
liquidation, and, in the case of any such proceeding or petition
instituted or presented against us, such proceeding or petition
(1) results in a judgment of insolvency or bankruptcy or
the entry of an order for relief or the making of an order for
our rehabilitation,
winding-up or
liquidation or (2) is not dismissed, discharged, stayed or
restrained in each case within 60 days of the institution
or presentation thereof; (e) have a resolution passed for
our rehabilitation, winding-up, official management or
liquidation (other than pursuant to a consolidation,
amalgamation or merger in which the resulting entity assumes our
obligations); (f) seek or become subject to the appointment
of an administrator, supervisor, rehabilitator, provisional
liquidator, conservator, receiver, trustee, custodian or other
similar official for us or for all or substantially all our
assets; (g) have a secured party take possession of all or
substantially all our assets or have a distress, execution,
attachment, sequestration or other legal process levied,
enforced or sued on or against all or substantially all our
assets and such secured party maintains possession, or any such
process is not dismissed, discharged, stayed or restrained, in
each case within 60 days thereafter; (h) cause or are
subject to any event with |
38
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respect to us which, under the applicable laws of any
jurisdiction, has an analogous effect to any of the events
specified in clauses (a) to (g) (inclusive); or
(i) take any action in furtherance of, or indicating our
consent to, approval of, or acquiescence in, any of the
foregoing acts. |
Upon the occurrence and continuance of a funding agreement
default specified in the first or second bullet point above, the
indenture trustee (as collateral holder) has the right, in
addition to any other rights and remedies they may have at law
or in equity, to immediately demand payment of all principal and
accrued and unpaid interest and any other amount due to such
date under the affected funding agreement. Upon the occurrence
of a funding agreement default specified in the third bullet
point above, the principal of and accrued and unpaid interest
and any other amounts payable under the affected funding
agreement will be immediately due and payable without any
declaration or other action by the trust or the indenture
trustee (as collateral holder).
Optional Redemption; Optional Repayment
If a redemption right is specified in the pricing supplement
related to a series of notes, we may redeem the related funding
agreement prior to the stated maturity date of such funding
agreement in whole or from time to time in part in increments of
$1,000 or any other integral multiple of an authorized
denomination specified in the applicable pricing supplement
(provided that any remaining principal amount thereof shall be
at least $1,000 or other minimum authorized denomination
applicable thereto), at the applicable redemption price (as
defined below), together with unpaid interest, if any, accrued
thereon to, but excluding, the date of redemption. We must give
written notice to the trust not more than 60 nor less than 35
calendar days prior to the date of redemption. Redemption
price, with respect to a funding agreement, means an
amount equal to the initial redemption percentage specified in
the applicable pricing supplement (as adjusted by the annual
redemption percentage reduction, as described in the pricing
supplement, if applicable) multiplied by the unpaid principal
amount to be redeemed. The initial redemption percentage, if
any, applicable to a funding agreement shall decline at each
anniversary of the initial redemption date by an amount equal to
the applicable annual redemption percentage reduction, if any,
until the redemption price is equal to 100% of the unpaid amount
thereof to be redeemed.
If a repayment right is specified in the pricing supplement
relating to a series of notes, the related funding agreement may
be subject to repayment at the request of the relevant trust,
upon the valid exercise of the repayment right in the related
notes by the holder of such notes, on any repayment date
specified in the applicable pricing supplement. On any such
repayment date, unless otherwise specified in the applicable
pricing supplement, the funding agreement shall be repayable in
whole or in part in increments of $1,000 at the request of the
relevant trust at a repayment price equal to 100% of the
principal amount thereof to be repaid, together with interest
thereon payable to the date of repayment. Exercise of such
repayment right by a trust shall be irrevocable.
Survivors Option
Unless a funding agreement has been declared due and payable
prior to its stated maturity date by reason of any event of
default thereunder, or has been previously redeemed or otherwise
repaid, a trust may request repayment of such funding agreement
upon the valid exercise of the survivors option in the
related notes by the authorized representative of the deceased
beneficial owner of such notes. If a survivors option is
specified in the notes and the applicable pricing supplement it
will be more fully described in the prospectus supplement
relating to such notes.
Withholding Tax and Payment of Additional Amounts
All amounts due in respect of each funding agreement will be
made without withholding or deduction for or on account of any
present or future taxes, duties, levies, assessments or other
governmental charges of whatever nature imposed or levied by or
on behalf of any governmental authority, unless such withholding
or deduction is required by law. Unless otherwise specified in
the applicable
39
pricing supplement, we will not pay any additional amounts to
the trust in respect of such withholding or deduction, any such
withholding or deduction will not give rise to any funding
agreement default or any independent right or obligation to
redeem such funding agreement and the trust will be deemed for
all purposes to have received cash in an amount equal to the
portion of such withholding or deduction that is attributable to
such trusts interest in the funding agreement as equitably
determined by us.
If it is specified in the applicable pricing supplement and
funding agreement that we have agreed to pay additional amounts
to the trust to reflect any required withholding or deduction
under the funding agreement and we are required, or based on an
opinion of independent legal counsel selected by us a material
probability exists that we will be required, to pay additional
amounts in respect of such withholding or deduction, pursuant to
(a) any amendment to, or change (including any announced
prospective change) in, the laws (or any regulations thereunder)
of the United States or any political subdivision or taxing
authority thereof or therein or (b) any amendment to, or
change in, an interpretation or application of any such laws or
regulations by any governmental authority in the United States,
which amendment or change is enacted, promulgated, issued or
announced on or after the effective date of the applicable
funding agreement, we will have the right to redeem the affected
funding agreement by giving not less than 30 and no more than
60 days prior written notice to the trust and by paying to
the trust the outstanding principal of, and premium, if any, and
accrued but unpaid interest, on, the relevant funding agreement
or such other amount as is specified in the applicable pricing
supplement. If we redeem the related funding agreement issued to
the trust, the related trust will redeem all of the notes of the
applicable series as provided in the indenture.
Early Redemption for Tax Event
Each funding agreement will provide that, upon the occurrence of
a tax event (as described below), we may redeem such funding
agreement by giving not less than 35 and no more than 60
calendar days prior written notice to the applicable trust and
by paying to such trust the outstanding principal of, and
premium, if any, and accrued but unpaid interest, on, the
relevant funding agreement or such other amount as is specified
in the applicable pricing supplement. If we redeem a funding
agreement, the applicable trust will redeem all of the notes of
the series secured by such funding agreement as provided in the
indenture. The term tax event means that we shall
have received an opinion of independent legal counsel stating in
effect that as a result of (a) any amendment to, or change
(including any announced prospective change) in, the laws (or
any regulations thereunder) of the United States or any
political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein or
(b) any amendment to, or change in, an interpretation or
application of any such laws or regulations by any governmental
authority in the United States, which amendment or change is
enacted, promulgated, issued or announced on or after the
effective date of the funding agreement there is more than an
insubstantial risk that (i) the trust is, or will be within
90 days of the date thereof, subject to United States
federal income tax with respect to interest accrued or received
on the relevant funding agreement or (ii) the trust is, or
will be within 90 days of the date thereof, subject to more
than a de minimis amount of taxes, duties or other
governmental charges.
Restrictions on Transfer
Each funding agreement will contain provisions prohibiting the
owner of the funding agreement from transferring or assigning
the funding agreement or any right to receive payments under the
funding agreement to any other person without our express
written consent. In connection with the issuance of a series of
notes by the trust, we will consent to the assignment of the
related funding agreement that will secure the obligations of
the issuer trust under such notes to the indenture trustee.
Agreed Tax Treatment
We and the trust will agree that each funding agreement shall be
disregarded for United States federal income tax purposes. The
funding agreement will provide that we and the applicable trust
each agree to treat the funding agreement, if not disregarded
for United States federal income tax purposes, as a debt
obligation of ours for United States federal, state and local
income and franchise tax purposes.
40
Governing Law
Each funding agreement will be subject to the laws of the State
of Iowa.
DESCRIPTION OF THE GUARANTEES
Set forth below is a summary of the guarantee that will be
issued by PFG to each trust in connection with each issuance of
a series of notes. This summary is not complete and you should
read the detailed provisions of the guarantee. A form of the
guarantee is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement
(of which this prospectus forms a part) and is incorporated into
this prospectus by reference.
General
Under each guarantee, PFG will fully, irrevocably, absolutely
and unconditionally guarantee to pay to the trust any payments
required to be made by us to the trust under the applicable
funding agreement which shall become due and payable regardless
of whether such payment is due at maturity, on an interest
payment date or as a result of redemption or otherwise (the
scheduled payments) but shall be unpaid by us (the
guaranteed amounts). However, in no event shall the
guaranteed amounts under a guarantee exceed the deposit of the
related funding agreement, plus accrued but unpaid interest and
any other amounts due and owing under the funding agreement,
less any amounts paid by us to the applicable trust.
In the event we do not make a scheduled payment when due (the
payment notice date) then the indenture trustee or
the trust may present a payment notice in writing to PFG on or
after the payment notice date, and PFG will be required to
immediately pay the guaranteed amounts.
The trust will collaterally assign and grant a security interest
in the guarantee to the indenture trustee as collateral to
secure the trusts obligations under the applicable series
of notes.
Each guarantee will be an unsecured, unsubordinated and
contingent obligation of PFG ranking equally with all other
unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of PFG. PFG is a
non-operating holding company, conducting a substantial portion
of its business through us. In the event of our insolvency or
receivership, PFG may incur limitations in receiving any
distributions from us. In such an event, PFG may have limited
resources to satisfy its obligations under the guarantees.
PFGs obligations under each guarantee will be effectively
subordinated to all existing and future debt and liabilities of
PFGs subsidiaries.
Events of Default
An event of default under each guarantee will occur upon the
failure of PFG to perform any of its payment obligations
thereunder. The trust and the indenture trustee, on behalf of
the holders of the applicable series of notes, have the right to
enforce the obligations of PFG under the applicable guarantee
and may institute any legal proceeding directly against PFG
without first instituting a legal proceeding against us.
Bankruptcy or similar events relating to PFG, the failure of any
guarantee to be in full force and effect and any revocation of
any guarantee by PFG will not constitute events of default under
such guarantee.
Termination of the Guarantee
Each guarantee will terminate and be of no further force and
effect with respect to the applicable funding agreement upon the
full payment of the scheduled payments or upon the earlier
extinguishment of our obligations under the relevant funding
agreement.
Governing Law
Each guarantee will be governed by, and construed in accordance
with, the laws of the State of New York without regard to
conflict of law principles.
41
FEES AND EXPENSES
All expenses of the program will be paid pursuant to the
separate expense and indemnity agreements entered into between
us and the indenture trustee, the custodian, the trust
beneficial owner and the trustee (on behalf of itself and each
trust to be formed in connection with the issuance of a series
of notes) and each expense and indemnity agreement to be entered
into with each service provider that may become a provider of
services under the programs from time to time. A form of each
expense and indemnity agreement have been filed as exhibits to
the registration statement (which includes this prospectus) and
are incorporated into this prospectus by reference.
Pursuant to each expense and indemnity agreement, we will pay
the costs and expenses relating to the offering, sale and
issuance of any series of notes and costs, expenses and taxes
incurred by each trust other than certain excluded amounts
described below and we will pay the costs and expenses of the
indenture trustee, the custodian, the trust beneficial owner,
the trustee, each trust and each service provider appointed from
time to time and will indemnify each of them with respect to
certain matters.
Under each expense and indemnity agreement, we will not be
obligated to pay any costs, expenses, taxes or other amounts
that are considered excluded amounts. Excluded amounts include:
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any payment obligation by a trust to a noteholder under the note; |
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any obligation of a trust to the extent such obligation has been
paid using funds available to the trust from payments under the
relevant funding agreement; |
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any cost, loss, damage, claim, action, suit, expense,
disbursement, tax, penalty or liability of any kind or nature
whatsoever resulting from or relating to any insurance
regulatory or other governmental authority asserting that: |
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the notes are participations in the relevant funding agreement
or are contracts of insurance; or |
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the offer, purchase, sale and/or transfer of the notes and/or
the pledge and collateral assignment of the funding agreement by
the trust to the indenture trustee constitute the conduct of the
business of insurance or reinsurance or require the trust or
holder of notes to be licensed as an insurer, insurance agent or
broker; |
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any cost, loss, damage, claim, expense, tax, penalty or
liability of any kind imposed on a service provider to the trust
resulting from the bad faith, misconduct or negligence of such
service provider; |
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any income taxes or overhead expenses of any service
provider; or |
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any withholding taxes imposed with respect to payments made
under the relevant funding agreement and any additional amounts
paid to any noteholder. |
Each expense and indemnity agreement will be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York,
without regard to conflicts of laws principles.
Additionally, under certain circumstances to the extent not paid
pursuant to the applicable expense and indemnity agreement, the
indenture trustee, the custodian, the trust beneficial owner, the
42
trustee and any service provider appointed from time to time may
be paid out of the trusts assets as described in the table
below:
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Circumstances |
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Giving Rise to |
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Party Receiving |
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Payment of |
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such Fees and |
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Distribution |
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Expenses |
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Expenses |
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General Purpose |
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Source of Funds |
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Priority |
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Amount Payable |
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Event of Default under Indenture
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Indenture Trustee |
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Reasonable and customary expenses and counsel fees incurred by
the indenture trustee and any other amounts due and unpaid to
the indenture trustee by the trust |
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Amounts collected by the indenture trustee following an event of
default under the indenture |
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First Priority |
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Actual fees and expenses (in an aggregate amount of no more than
$250,000 for all notes issued under the program) |
Liquidation of the Trust
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Indenture Trustee, Trustee, Custodian, Trust Beneficial Holder
and any service provider appointed from time to time |
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Any claims, including expenses |
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Assets of a trust upon the liquidation of such trust |
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Second Priority (after the payment of all amounts due and unpaid
on the notes, if any, of the applicable trust) |
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Actual Expenses |
ERISA CONSIDERATIONS
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended
(ERISA), imposes certain requirements on
employee benefit plans (as defined in
Section 3(3) of ERISA) subject to ERISA, including entities
such as collective investment funds whose underlying assets
include the assets of such plans (collectively, ERISA
plans), and on those persons who are fiduciaries with
respect to ERISA plans. Investments by ERISA plans are subject
to ERISAs general fiduciary requirements, including the
requirement of investment prudence and diversification and the
requirement that an ERISA plans investments be made in
accordance with the documents governing the ERISA plan. Each
fiduciary of an ERISA plan should consider the fiduciary
standards of ERISA in the context of the ERISA plans
particular circumstances before authorizing an investment in the
notes. Accordingly, among other factors, the fiduciary should
consider whether the investment would satisfy the prudence and
diversification requirements of ERISA and would be consistent
with the documents and instruments governing the ERISA plan.
Subject to the considerations described herein, the notes are
eligible for purchase by plans, any entity whose underlying
assets include plan assets by reason of any
plans investment in the entity (plan asset
entity) and any person investing plan assets
of any plan.
Under United States Department of Labor regulations at
29 C.F.R.
§ 2510.3-101,
as in effect from time to time (the plan asset
regulations), the assets of a trust may be deemed to be
plan assets of an ERISA plan or a plan
such as an individual retirement account or a Keogh plan (as
defined in Section 4975(e)(1) of the Code, other than a
governmental or church plan described in Section 4975(g)(2)
or (3) of the Code) (together with ERISA plans,
plans) for purposes of ERISA and Section 4975
of the Code if a plan or a person investing plan
assets of a plan acquires an equity interest in a trust
and none of the exceptions contained in the plan asset
regulations are applicable. An equity
43
interest is defined under the plan asset regulations as any
interest in an entity other than an instrument that is treated
as indebtedness under applicable local law and has no
substantial equity features. There is very little pertinent
authority on the issue of what constitutes an equity interest
for purposes of the plan asset regulations. Accordingly, whether
the notes would be treated as debt or equity for purposes of the
plan asset regulations is unclear. Since, however, the holders
of notes of a series will have recourse only to the relevant
collateral that secures such series of notes, if the notes were
treated as equity interests, only the related funding agreement
would be treated as assets of any plan holding a note.
Even if the notes are treated as equity interests for purposes
of the plan asset regulations, because (a) the relevant
trust expects that the funding agreement will be treated as
debt, rather than equity, for United States federal tax purposes
and (b) the funding agreement should not be deemed to have
any substantial equity features, none of the assets
underlying the funding agreement should be treated as plan
assets for purposes of the plan asset regulations. Those
conclusions are based, in part, upon the traditional debt
features of the funding agreement, including the reasonable
expectation of purchasers of the notes that the payments due
under the funding agreement will be paid when due, as well as
the absence of conversion rights, warrants and other typical
equity features.
Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code
prohibit plans from engaging in certain transactions involving
plan assets with persons who are parties in
interest under ERISA or disqualified persons
under the Code with respect to such plans (together,
parties in interest), unless a statutory or
administrative exemption is available. For example, if we, a
trust or any Agent are a party in interest with respect to a
plan (either directly or by reason of our ownership of
subsidiaries), the purchase of the notes by or on behalf of the
plan would likely be a prohibited transaction under
Section 406(a)(1) of ERISA and Section 4975(c)(1) of
the Code, unless exemptive relief were available under an
applicable administrative exemption (see below). A party in
interest that engages in a prohibited transaction may be subject
to excise taxes and other penalties and liabilities under ERISA
and the Code, unless a statutory or administrative exemption is
available.
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has
issued prohibited transaction class exemptions
(PTCEs) that may provide exemptive relief for direct
or indirect prohibited transactions resulting from the purchase
and holding of the notes by or on behalf of a plan. These class
exemptions include PTCE 96-23 (for certain transactions
determined by in-house asset managers), PTCE 95-60 (for
certain transactions involving insurance company general
accounts), PTCE 91-38 (for certain transactions involving
bank collective investment funds), PTCE 90-1 (for certain
transactions involving insurance company pooled separate
accounts) and PTCE 84-14 (for certain transactions
determined by independent qualified professional asset
managers). There can be no assurances that any of these class
exemptions or any other exemptions will be available with
respect to any particular transaction involving the notes. In
addition, a purchaser of the notes should be aware that, even if
the conditions specified in one or more of the above-referenced
exemptions are met, the scope of the exemptive relief provided
by the exemption might not cover all acts which might be
construed as prohibited transactions.
Accordingly, the notes may not be purchased or held by any plan,
any plan asset entity or any person investing plan
assets of any plan, unless the purchase and holding of the
notes is not a prohibited transaction or is exempt under
PTCE 96-23, 95-60, 91-38, 90-1 or 84-14 or any other
prohibited transaction exemption issued by the DOL. Any
purchaser of the notes or any interest therein, including in the
secondary market, will be deemed to have represented that, among
other things, either it is not a plan or other plan asset entity
and it is not purchasing the notes on behalf of or with
plan assets of any plan or other plan asset entity,
or its purchase and holding of the notes is exempt under
PTCE 96-23, 95-60, 91-38, 90-1 or 84-14 or another
applicable exemption. Such representations shall be deemed to be
made each day from the date on which the purchaser purchases the
notes through and including the date on which the purchaser
disposes of the notes.
Moreover, the notes may not be purchased or held by any plan,
any plan asset entity or any person investing plan
assets of any plan if we, the trust, the indenture
trustee, the guarantor or any of their respective affiliates:
(a) has investment discretion with respect to the assets of
the plan used to effect
44
such purchase; (b) has authority or responsibility to give,
or regularly give, investment advice with respect to such assets
for a fee and pursuant to an agreement or understanding that
such advice (1) will serve as a primary basis for
investment decisions with respect to such assets and
(2) will be based on the particular investment needs of
such plan; or (c) unless PTCE 95-60, 91-38 or 90-1
applies, is an employer maintaining or contributing to such plan.
Any insurance company proposing to invest assets of its general
account in the notes should consider the implications of the
United States Supreme Courts decision in John Hancock
Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Harris Trust and Savings Bank,
510 U.S. 86, 114 S. Ct. 517 (1993), in which
the United States Supreme Court held that in certain
circumstances assets in a life insurance companys general
account are treated as assets of a plan that owns a policy or
other contract with such insurance company, as well as the
effect of Section 401(c) of ERISA as interpreted by
regulations issued by the DOL in January 2000.
Due to the complexity of these rules and the penalties that may
be imposed upon persons involved in non-exempt prohibited
transactions, it is particularly important that fiduciaries or
other persons considering purchasing notes on behalf of or with
plan assets of any plan or plan asset entity consult
with their counsel regarding the potential consequences under
ERISA and the Code and the availability of exemptive relief
under PTCE 96-23, 95-60, 91-38, 90-1 or 84-14.
Governmental plans (as defined in Section 3(32) of ERISA)
and certain church plans (as defined in Section 3(33) of
ERISA), while not subject to the fiduciary responsibility
provisions of ERISA or the provisions of Section 4975 of
the Code, may nevertheless be subject to state, local or other
federal laws that are substantially similar to the foregoing
provisions of ERISA and the Code such as Section 503 of the
Code. No view is expressed as to whether an investment in the
notes (and any continued holding of the notes), or the operation
and administration of the trust, is appropriate or permissible
for any governmental plan or church plan under Section 503
of the Code, or under any state, local or other law respecting
such plan. Any purchaser of the notes or any interest therein,
including in the secondary market, will be deemed to have
represented that, among other things, either (a) it is not
a governmental plan or a church plan or any entity the assets of
which are treated as including assets of such plans and it is
not purchasing the notes on behalf of or with assets of any such
plan or entity or (b) its purchase, holding and disposition
of the notes is not in violation of the laws applicable to any
such governmental plan or church plan. Such representations
shall be deemed to be made each day from the date on which the
purchaser purchases the notes through and including the date on
which the purchaser disposes of the notes. Fiduciaries of any
such plans should consult with their counsel before purchasing
any notes.
The sale of any notes to a plan is in no respect a
representation by any party or entity that such an investment
meets all relevant legal requirements with respect to
investments by plans generally or any particular plan, or that
such an investment is appropriate for plans generally or any
particular plan.
Notwithstanding the above, with regard to a particular trust,
the sale of notes to plans, or a person utilizing the plan
assets of plans, might not be allowed, or might only be allowed
subject to certain additional conditions, in which case the
applicable pricing supplement will disclose the prohibition or
such additional conditions.
THE ERISA CONSIDERATIONS SET FORTH ABOVE ARE ONLY INTENDED AS A
SUMMARY AND MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE DEPENDING UPON A PLANS
SPECIFIC FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES. PLAN FIDUCIARIES SHOULD
CONSULT THEIR OWN ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE ADVISABILITY OF
AN INVESTMENT IN THE NOTES, AND POTENTIALLY ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES
OF SUCH INVESTMENT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE POSSIBLE
EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN APPLICABLE LAWS.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
This prospectus relates to the offering of notes through the
trusts to institutional and retail investors from time to time
for sale to or through the agents identified in the applicable
prospectus
45
supplement. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated, ABN AMRO Incorporated, Banc of America Securities
LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.,
BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc.,
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities
Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities
Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co.
Incorporated, UBS Securities LLC and Wachovia Capital Markets,
LLC have been named as agents (referred to below as
Agents) in the prospectus supplement relating to the
offering of notes to institutional investors under our secured
medium-term notes program. If we add or remove an Agent from our
secured medium-term notes program, the applicable pricing
supplement will disclose such addition or removal. Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated has been
named as the purchasing agent (also referred to below as an
Agent) in the prospectus supplement relating to the
offering of notes to retail investors under our
Principal®
Life
CoreNotes®
program. Also, Agents to our secured medium-term notes retail
program will be disclosed in the applicable pricing supplement.
The distribution of the notes offered under this prospectus may
occur in one or more transactions at fixed prices, at market
prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such
prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices, all of which
may change over time. A trust may not issue additional notes
after the first and only issuance of its notes.
In connection with the sale of the notes, the Agents may receive
from the trust or from purchasers of the notes for whom they may
act as agents compensation in the form of discounts, concessions
or commissions. The Agents may sell the notes to or through
dealers, and those dealers may receive compensation in the form
of discounts, concessions or commissions from the purchasers for
whom they may act as agents. The Agents and dealers that
participate in the distribution of the notes are
underwriters within the meaning of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to the notes being
distributed, the funding agreement purchased by the trust and
the guarantee issued to the trust. Any Agents that participate
in the offering of the notes will be identified and their
compensation will be described in the applicable prospectus
supplement or pricing supplement. The applicable prospectus
supplement or pricing supplement will also describe the other
terms of the offering, including any discounts or concessions
allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers.
We and PFG will agree to indemnify, jointly and severally, the
Agents against certain liabilities, including liabilities under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or to contribute to
payments the Agents may be required to make in respect thereof.
With respect to any series of notes as to which affiliates of
the indenture trustee will serve as an Agent, the relevant trust
will appoint an eligible and unaffiliated entity to serve as
indenture trustee with respect to such series of notes, instead
of the indenture trustee.
We are a statutory issuer of the notes under the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended.
Under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, each trust is a
statutory underwriter of the funding agreement and related
guarantee.
In the ordinary course of its business, the Agents and their
affiliates have engaged, and may in the future engage, in
investment and commercial banking transactions with us, PFG and
certain of our and its affiliates.
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain matters regarding the notes and their offering will be
passed upon:
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for us by either Karen E. Shaff or Nora M. Everett, internal
counsel for Principal Life (as to Iowa law); |
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for us by John D. Schmidt, internal counsel for Principal Life
(as to tax law matters); |
46
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for the trusts, us and PFG by Sidley Austin LLP (as to New York
law matters, as to Delaware law matters, as to United States
federal securities and tax law matters and as to certain
insurance regulatory matters); and |
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for the Agents by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (as to New
York law matters and as to United States federal securities law
matters). |
Opinions issued in connection with future offerings may be
issued by counsel other than those listed above. The name of
such counsel other than those listed above will be included in
the applicable pricing supplement.
Sidley Austin LLP has from time to time represented, and
continues to represent, one or more of the Agents in connection
with matters unrelated to the offering of the notes. Pillsbury
Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has from time to time represented, and
continues to represent, us in connection with matters unrelated
to the offering of the notes.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of Principal Financial
Group, Inc. appearing in Principal Financial Group, Inc.s
Annual Report
(Form 10-K) for
the year ended December 31, 2004 (including schedules
appearing therein), and Principal Financial Group, Inc.
managements assessment of the effectiveness of internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004
included therein, have been audited by Ernst & Young
LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth
in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated
herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements and
managements assessment are incorporated herein by
reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority
of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
47
$5,000,000,000
Secured Medium-Term Notes (That are also Asset-Backed
Securities)
Due Between Nine Months
and Thirty Years From
the Date of Issue
Issued Through and Obligations of
Principal Life Income Fundings Trusts
Secured by Funding Agreements
Issued by Principal Life Insurance Company
and
Guarantees Issued by
Principal Financial Group, Inc.
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
Merrill Lynch & Co.
ABN AMRO Incorporated
Banc of America Securities LLC
Barclays Capital
Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.
BNP PARIBAS
Citigroup
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank Securities
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
JPMorgan
Lehman Brothers
Morgan Stanley
UBS Investment Bank
Wachovia Securities
February 16, 2006