National Bank of Canada says it intends to issue $500 million of medium term notes.

The net proceeds from the issuance of the Series 6 Notes will be added to the general funds of the bank and will be used for general banking purposes.

The Series 6 Notes are eligible for inclusion as Tier 2B capital of the bank. The offering is scheduled to close on May 1.

The Series 6 Notes will be dated May 1, 2008 and will mature on Nov. 15, 2018. Interest on notes will be paid semi-annually at 5.55% per year until Nov. 15, 2013 and thereafter will be equal to the 90-day Bankers’ Acceptance Rate plus 2.64% and will be payable quarterly. The notes are redeemable at the Bank’s option at par on and after Nov. 15, 2013.

The notes been assigned a rating of A (high) with a stable trend from DBRS Limited, A- from Standard & Poor’s Rating Service and Aa3 with a stable outlook from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.

National Bank Financial Inc. acted as lead agent for the offering.