(New York and Brussels, July 2, 2001) Under the direction of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (“ANNA”), Standard & Poor’s, New York and Telekurs Financial, Zurich, have officially developed and launched a new entity titled the “ANNA Service Bureau.”

The creation of the Service Bureau emphasizes ANNA’s commitment to facilitate the industry’s movement toward straight-through processing (STP). On behalf of the global numbering agencies, the Service Bureau is tasked with improving upon all aspects of the timely, accurate and standardized identification of financial instruments, as well as the equitable distribution of this information. The Service Bureau now operates as a central hub to receive and consolidate ISIN data from the 60+ ANNA members and partners, and disseminate this information to the market via downloadable FTP and Web-based solutions.

ISIN is the International Securities Identification Number regulated by the ISO 6166 standard.

ANNA has also authorized the Service Bureau to provide solutions to the industry’s on-going requirement to link and cross-reference the single ISO numbering standard - ISIN - with the myriad of local numbering systems embedded in the infrastructures of market participants.

“I’m extremely pleased with the commitment of ANNA members to join forces with Standard & Poor’s and Telekurs to meet the industry’s growing STP requirements”, reported Niels W. Hougaard, of Vaerdipapircentralen, Denmark, and Chairman of ANNA. “The launch of the ANNA Service Bureau in collaboration with 2 leaders in securities identification solutions - Standard & Poor’s and Telekurs - represents a major step toward providing a comprehensive ISIN solution to the financial community.”

“Standard & Poor’s embraces the opportunity to partner with Telekurs and ANNA in the launch of the ANNA Service Bureau,” James D. Taylor, Vice President and Managing Director, Standard & Poor’s Global Settlement Services, commented. “This utility will assist domestic and global market participants in the achievement of efficient cross-border trade practices and interoperability.”

Karl Landolt, Head of Data Operations of Telekurs Financial, said: “Telekurs remains committed, in collaboration with S&P and ANNA, to providing a solution that will facilitate STP for the financial industry”.

According to Michael Atkin, Vice President and Director of SIIA's Financial Information Services Division: "We applaud ANNA, Standard & Poor's and Telekurs Financial for the steps they are taking to ensure timely electronic access to primary numbering information. We are encouraged by the creation of the ANNA Service Bureau as an efficient operational utility to meet the increasing requirements associated with ISIN assignment, maintenance and consolidated dissemination. We view this as an important first step in the creation of the informational infrastructure required for straight through processing."

ANNA is the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) maintenance agency for the ISIN numbering standard (ISO 6166). ANNA was founded in 1992 by 22 numbering agencies and has rapidly grown to become a global association of 61 members. The numbering agencies are responsible for the identification of financial instruments using the ISIN, which is a key component of STP.

The work to develop the ANNA Service Bureau structure has progressed for more than one year, led by an ANNA Task Force representing 12 numbering agencies. The Task Force, now reorganized as the ANNA Service Bureau Advisory Board, has also assisted ANNA in communicating directly with market participants. These participants include the Global Straight Through Processing Association (GSTPA), the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA), all in the interest of ensuring market requirements will be met. With the formation of the ANNA Service Bureau, ANNA will continue to work with these groups in a formal manner via an existing User Group. For additional information regarding ANNA, please visit http://www.anna-web.com.

Telekurs Financial is one of the world’s leading providers of descriptive, corporate action and pricing information for international securities. Founded in Switzerland in 1930, Telekurs Financial maintains one of the world’s most comprehensive database of financial instruments, covering all fundamental data and corporate actions as well as real time market data. The company provides services to the financial industry worldwide. Telekurs Financial, a subsidiary of Telekurs Holding AG, is the official numbering agency for Switzerland and has clients in all major financial centers. For more information about Telekurs Financial please visit http://www.telekurs-financial.com.

Standard & Poor’s, a leading global provider of investment information, advisory services and credit ratings provides financial, economic and investment information, as well as analytical services to the global financial community. Standard & Poor’s is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), and has operated the CUSIP Service Bureau for the American Bankers Association under an exclusive licensing agreement since 1969. Founded in 1888, the McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading information services provider, meeting worldwide needs in education, business, finance, the professions and government. Sales in 1999 were more than $4 billion. For more information about Standard & Poor’s go to http://www.standardandpoors.com.

For further information on the ANNA Service Bureau, please contact:

N.Y.: Scott Preiss VP, Standard & Poor’s Global Settlement Services: 212-438-6560

Zurich: Nourredine Yous (Telekurs Financial): 41-1-279-5450

Or visit the ANNA Service Bureau Web site at www.annaservice.com