Press Release: ANNA Authorizes Standard & Poor's and Telekurs Financial to Create ANNA Service Bureau

November 1, 2000

Brussels, October 30, 2000 -- At their General Meeting in Brussels, the Association of National Numbering Agencies ("ANNA") unanimously authorized its Board of Directors to finalize and execute an agreement with Standard & Poor's and Telekurs Financial to develop and manage a new entity titled the "ANNA Service Bureau." The agreement is scheduled to take effect on November 22, 2000 following a final review of the new entity's service level requirements by ANNA.

The creation of the Service Bureau emphasized ANNA's commitment to facilitate the industry's movement toward Straight Through Processing (STP). On behalf of the 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 is envisioned as a central hub to receive and consolidate ISIN data from the 61 ANNA members and disseminate this information to the market via downloadable FTP and web-based solutions.

ANNA has also authorized the Service Bureau to provide solutions to the industry's ongoing requirement to link and cross-reference the single ISO numbering standard ISIN with the myriad of local numbering systems embedded in the infrastructure of market participants. "I'm extremely pleased with the unanimous decision by ANNA members to authorize the Board to enter into this agreement with Standard & Poor's and Telekurs," reported Niels W. Hougaard of Vaerdipapircentralen, Denmark and Chairman of ANNA. "I'm also delighted that ANNA will now be able to collaborate with two leaders in securities identification solutions -- Standard & Poor's and Telekurs -- to meet the industry's growing STP requirements with a comprehensive ISIN solution. The Board expects the Bureau to be operational by the third quarter of 2001."

James D. Taylor, Vice President and Managing Director, Standard & Poor's Global Settlement Services, added, "Standard & Poor's looks forward to joining forces with Telekurs and ANNA to enable domestic and global market participants to achieve efficient cross-border trade practices and interoperability." Karl Landolt, Head of Data Operations of Telekurs Financial underlines: "Telekurs is pleased to provide together with S&P and ANNA a solution that will facilitate STP for the financial industry."

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 been underway for nearly one year, led by an ANNA Task Force representing 12 numbering agencies. The Task Force has also assisted ANNA in communicating directly with market participants, including the Global Straight Through Processing Association (GTSPA), the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), to ensure market requirements will be me. With the agreement to form the ANNA Service Bureau, ANNA will continue this process in a formal manner via the formation of a 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 action 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 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.