Exhibit 99.1





Putnam  Confirms  Settlement  Agreements with SEC and Office of the Secretary of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts


Boston, MA, April 8, 2004-Putnam Investments confirmed today that it has reached
settlement  agreements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the
Office  of  the  Secretary  of  the   Commonwealth  of   Massachusetts   in  the
administrative  and  cease-and-desist  proceedings  focusing on market timing in
Putnam mutual funds.

Under the terms of the SEC agreement, Putnam will pay $5 million in disgorgement
and a $50 million  penalty,  all of which will be distributed to shareholders in
the funds.  According to the  agreement  with the Office of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  Putnam will pay $5 million in  restitution  to
shareholders  in the funds and a $50  million  penalty  to the  Commonwealth  of
Massachusetts. The monies to be distributed to shareholders will be disseminated
pursuant to a plan approved by an independent consultant.

"These settlement  agreements with the SEC and Secretary Galvin's Office reflect
our  commitment to put these matters behind us and continue to move forward as a
firm focusing on  rebuilding  investor  confidence  and  delivering  consistent,
dependable,  superior  investment  performance  over  time,"  said Ed  Haldeman,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Putnam.  "Over the past several months,
Putnam has made great progress in implementing the reforms that were part of the
November 13, 2003 partial agreement with the SEC and in developing  initiatives,
which we believe will provide additional  protections and benefits to investors.
We remain  steadfast in our pledge to implement these  initiatives as quickly as
practicable,  to  continue  to  adopt  industry-leading  best  practices  and to
reinforce the right values at Putnam."

Since November 2003, Putnam has implemented the following reforms and changes:

o    Putnam has put in place strict restrictions on employee trading requiring
     employees to hold their investments in Putnam funds for at least 90 days.

o    Putnam has adopted additional short-term redemption fees and an enhanced
     fair value pricing program to prevent rapid trading in Putnam funds.

o    Putnam has strengthened its compliance and ethics standards, organization
     and systems across the board.  This has included reorganizing the
     compliance function





     under the Office of the General Counsel, improving its compliance systems
     and appointing a new compliance officer.

o    In addition to appointing a new CEO in November, Putnam has made a number
     of senior management changes, including the appointments of a new Chief
     Administrative Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Financial Officer
     and General Counsel.

o    Putnam has undergone one of the most comprehensive reviews ever conducted
     by a mutual fund company.  This has included an internal review of employee
     trading going back six years and a full review by the Trustees of the
     funds. These reviews confirm that only a small number of employees engaged
     in improper trading, and that no agreements were made to allow market
     timing or late trading.

o    Putnam has implemented a number of voluntary initiatives to limit fund
     expenses and enhance information disclosures to fund shareholders. These
     actions should save shareholders an estimated $35 million and provide them
     with access to more information about fund expenses, the structure of
     portfolio manager compensation, risk, and employee and Trustee ownership
     in Putnam funds.

"We are  grateful for the support and patience  that we have  received  from our
investors,  clients,  plan  sponsors and advisors  over the past months while we
worked  through these issues with the  regulators.  Today,  Putnam moves forward
with the policies and procedures,  as well as the values and culture,  that will
enable  us to remain  focused  on our  first  and  foremost  priority--prudently
investing the money that shareholders entrust to us," Mr. Haldeman concluded.

Founded in 1937,  Putnam is one of the United  States'  oldest and largest money
management  firms.  As of March  31,  2004,  Putnam  managed  $227  billion  for
approximately 11 million individual  shareholders accounts and 500 institutional
clients.  Putnam has headquarters in Boston and offices in London and Tokyo. For
more information, go to www.putnaminvestments.com