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Ten Major Clearing Organizations Join in Calling for Global Central Counterparty Solution

New York and London, December 12, 2000 - The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the world's largest securities clearance and settlement organization, announced today that ten major clearing organizations are cosponsoring a conference on global clearing for the financial services industry. The conference will take place in London, January 31 to February 2, 2001.

DTCC called for the conference in a recent white paper on central counterparties (CCPs), which said that a global clearing solution was needed to help lower costs, reduce risk and facilitate the growth of trading in a wide array of financial instruments worldwide.

"The response to our white paper has been extremely positive," said Jill M. Considine, Chairman & CEO of DTCC. "The fact that these leading clearing houses have joined us is indicative of the industry's commitment and strong sense of urgency in finding a global solution to cross-border clearance and settlement. We believe this conference will encourage the type of dialogue and partnering needed to develop a truly global perspective."

The ten clearing organizations in Europe, Asia and the Americas that have agreed to cosponsor the conference are:

Europe

• Clearnet^SBFSA, Paris
• Eurex Clearing AG, Frankfurt
• London Clearing House (LCH)

Asia

• Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx)
• Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX)
• Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)

The Americas

• The Brazilian Clearing and Depository Corporation (CBLC), São Paulo
• The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited (CDS), Toronto, Ontario
• The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, New York
• The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), Chicago, Illinois

"The next generation of clearing capabilities will be challenging and expensive, with every region of the world planning major infrastructure investments in the next five to ten years," said Considine. "We must address issues of cross-border risk and capital optimization and avoid duplicating investments wherever possible."

Considine noted that the white paper does not prescribe a single CCP solution, but rather identifies issues that require discussion, a shared understanding and mutual agreement across the industry.

Notes to Editors:
A central counterparty is a specialized clearing institution that facilitates securities trading by standing between buyers and sellers to ensure that money and securities change hands smoothly and efficiently. This can include guaranteeing trade completion and netting down the value of obligations requiring financial settlement. In the U.S. equities market, this reduction can be as much as 97 percent.

The white paper issued on October 30 cited a number of benefits resulting from a CCP:

• Standardizing processing which will translate into lower operating costs;
• Reducing risk during settlement (through better risk management practices, multilateral netting and settlement guarantees);
• Anonymity among trading parties; and
• Reducing the number of trades requiring settlement, improving liquidity and effectively increasing market capacity.

A copy of the white paper, Central Counterparties: Development, Cooperation and Consolidation, can be found on DTCC's Web site at www.dtcc.com.

About Clearnet^SBFSA

Clearnet is the clearing house and central counterparty of Euronext, the first pan-European bourse resulting from the merger of the Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris exchanges. It is the first clearing house in Europe to clear and guarantee both regulated and OTC markets and has a unrivaled 10 year track record in clearing cash and derivatives markets. More information is available on www.clearnetsa.com.

About Eurex Clearing AG

The Eurex Clearing House is acting as a central counterparty for trading financial derivatives on Eurex, the world's largest derivatives exchange and Eurex Bonds, an ECN for trading European Bonds. In the third quarter of 2001, Eurex Clearing plans to extend its services to equities and also to offer clearing facilities for Eurex-Repo trading in the second quarter 2001. More information is available on www.eurexchange.com.

About London Clearing House (LCH)

LCH acts as a central counterparty to trades executed by its members on the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE), the London Metal Exchange (LME), the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) and the Tradepoint Stock Exchange; in certain classes of over-the-counter (OTC) products, specifically interbank interest rate swaps, repos and cash bonds; in early 2001, in equities traded on the London Stock Exchange's SETS system, and, later in 2001, in equities traded on virt-x, the new pan-European exchange formed by Tradepoint and SWX Swiss Exchange. LCH is owned by its members and derivatives exchanges, 75% and 25% respectively. Further information on LCH is available on its web site, www.lch.co.uk

About Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx)

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) wholly owns The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited and Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited. It provides a comprehensive range of pre- and post-trade investment services and market information services to subscribers of information vendors. More information on HKEx is available on www.hkex.com.hk.

About Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) / Central Depository(Pte) Limited

The Central Depository (Pte) Ltd (CDP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX), provides integrated clearing, settlement, depository and computerized book-entry services for securities traded on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading (SGX-ST). The CDP also has links with foreign clearing and depository organizations such DTCC, Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, Clearstream Luxembourg and Shenzhen Securities Registration Company to facilitate settlement of cross-border trades. More information is available on www.sgx.com.

About Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)

Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), while being a leading equities and derivatives exchange, not only in Asia but globally, also serves as a clearing organization with the CCP function for transactions executed at its market. In 1999, the TSE, as a clearing organization, processed approximately JPY 1,673 trillion for transactions in its equities and derivatives market. More information on TSE is available at www.tse.or.jp.

About The Brazilian Clearing and Depository Corporation (CBLC)

The Brazilian Clearing and Depository Corporation (CBLC), as the DNS clearinghouse for the Brazilian securities markets (equities and debt instruments), provides a modern and efficient infrastructure for clearing, settlement, depository and risk management for cash, options and forward markets. Aligned with international best practices, CBLC acts as central counterparty and guarantor of settlements. More information on CBLC is available at www.cblc.com.br.

About The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited (CDS)

The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited (CDS) is Canada's national securities clearing and depository service organization, established in 1970 to improve the efficiency of the financial sector through the provision of depository, clearing and related services in both domestic and international markets. CDS processes in excess of 57 million trades annually, holds nearly C$2 trillion on deposit and offers value-added information services to the broader securities industry in Canada. More information on CDS and its services is available at www.cds.ca.

About DTCC

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), with operating facilities in multiple locations in the U.S. and overseas, is a holding company for six subsidiary businesses - a depository and five clearing corporations - as well as the co-owner with Thomson Financial of a global joint venture called Omgeo. Through its subsidiaries, DTCC provides clearance, settlement and information services for equities, corporate debt, municipal debt, government securities and mortgage-backed securities in the U.S., and emerging markets debt trades globally. It is also a leading clearinghouse for mutual funds and insurance products, linking funds and carriers with distribution networks. In addition, DTCC provides custody and asset servicing for more than two million securities from the U.S. and 84 other countries. For more information on DTCC, see www.dtcc.com.

About The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the largest clearing organization in the world for financial derivatives instruments. Operating under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission, OCC is the issuer and registered clearing facility for U.S. Exchange-listed securities options. More information is available through OCC's web site at www.optionsclearing.com.