Treasury Marketable Securities Available In TreasuryDirect With October 3rd Auctions

FOR RELEASE AT 11:00 AM

September 29, 2005

Beginning with the auction of 13- and 26-Week Treasury Bills on October 3, holders of TreasuryDirect electronic accounts will be able to purchase and hold marketable Treasury securities along with nonmarketable Series EE and I savings bonds.

TreasuryDirect accounts permit owners to purchase, manage and redeem Treasury securities electronically - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - through a secure Internet connection directly with the Treasury Department. Only savings bonds have been available to TreasuryDirect account holders since the account system began in October 2002.

According to Van Zeck, Commissioner of the Public Debt, "The addition of Treasury marketable securities to TreasuryDirect provides account holders with the ability, for the first time - to hold all our securities in a single, easily-accessible account. As a result, investors can vary their Treasury securities holdings as their savings and investment needs change over time."

With the added availability of marketable Bills, Notes, Bonds and TIPS purchased at auctions on and after October 3, account holders will be able to buy, hold and manage the full range of Treasury securities available to the general public in a single account. Previously, Treasury marketable securities could be purchased and held in the Legacy Treasury Direct system that did not include savings bonds and did not have the range of electronic functionality available in TreasuryDirect.

TreasuryDirect accounts can be opened online by going to Public Debt's website, www.treasurydirect.gov. To date, there are some 400,000 TreasuryDirect accounts holding approximately $2 billion worth of Series EE and I savings bonds.

For more information about the addition of Treasury marketable securities in TreasuryDirect, visit our frequently asked questions page.