The MTN market provides corporations with the ability to raise funds discreetly because the issuer, the investor, and the agent are the only market participants that have to know about a primary transaction. In periods of financial turmoil, funds can be raised quietly, without risking negative publicity in the high profile bond market. Large, discreet offerings of MTNs typically have large face amounts of $100 million or more, are sold on an underwritten basis, and they often have relatively long maturities of 10 or 30 years. (Federal Reserve-Bulletin)