EuroCCP Receives FSA Approval as Recognised Clearing House

European Central Counterparty Ltd. (EuroCCP) announced today that
it received approval as a U.K. Recognised Clearing House (RCH) by the
Financial Services Authority (FSA), solidifying its position as a
competitive, low cost alternative for clearing and settlement in
Europe.

"We are delighted that the FSA has granted EuroCCP status as a
U.K. Recognised Clearing House," said Diana Chan, chief executive
officer, EuroCCP. "Initiatives such as MiFid and the Code of Conduct
are changing the landscape in Europe and allowing new service
providers such as EuroCCP to help market participants further reduce
transaction costs, improve efficiency and connect more seamlessly in
today´s market place."

EuroCCP was selected to clear and settle for Turquoise, a new
pan-european multilateral trading facility (MTF) created by a
consortium of nine major global investment banks that will trade the
most liquid equities in Europe. EuroCCP will use Citi´s Global
Transaction Services as its settlement agent.

"We believe the value that our ´at-cost´, industry-governed
business model will be attractive to European capital markets and
their participants," said Chan. "EuroCCP is already in active
discussions with other MTF trading platforms to provide clearing and
settlement services."

EuroCCP reaffirms its commitment to sign the voluntary European
Code of Conduct for clearing and settlement, allowing for
interoperability of its services with other clearing and settlement
houses and European trading platforms.

The FSA approval of EuroCCP as a Recognised Clearing House
followed a satisfactory in-depth review of all aspects of EuroCCP´s
business arrangements as a critical market infrastructure.

Earlier in 2008, EuroCCP announced the selection of a 13-member
Board of Directors to govern its operations. The new slate of
directors includes three independent directors from the industry, two
management representatives and eight representatives from participant
organizations: Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Citi, UBS,
BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley. The three independent
directors are Edouard-Francois de Lencquesaing (former head of
transaction banking and IT at Credit Commercial de France), Iain
Saville (former Chief Executive of CRESTCo Ltd.) and Derek Ross
(former Partner at Deloitte U.K.).

How EuroCCP Will Work

EuroCCP will accept trades from the Turquoise and other trading
platforms. EuroCCP will guarantee trades upon receipt and validation,
then net all transactions on all platforms in the same security into
one amount for settlement per clearing participant. For trading firms
that are not clearing participants of EuroCCP, these trades will be
handled through general clearing participant relationships.

EuroCCP will apply risk-based margining, with appropriate levels
of margin collected on a daily basis. Any unsettled obligations will
be marked-to-market each day.

Citi will process EuroCCP´s settlement instructions for delivering
and receiving securities and related payments in various currencies
through its local securities network at various national Central
Securities Depositories. Clearing participants do not need to change
their settlement arrangements with existing settlement service
providers.

EuroCCP is headquartered in London. It will be operated on an
"at-cost" basis, and any excess revenues collected beyond the cost to
support the operation will be refunded to participants.

About EuroCCP

European Central Counterparty Limited (EuroCCP), headquartered in
London, is a subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
(DTCC). It was formed to provide clearing and settlement services for
a wide range of multilateral trading facilities across Europe. It will
initially clear equity trades in 14 countries and in seven different
currencies. For more information, visit www.euroccp.co.uk.

About DTCC

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), through its
subsidiaries, provides clearance, settlement and information services
for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, government and
mortgage-backed securities, money market instruments and
over-the-counter derivatives.

In addition, DTCC is a leading processor of mutual funds and
insurance transactions, linking funds and carriers with financial
firms and third parties who market these products. DTCC´s depository
provides custody and asset servicing for more than 3.5 million
securities issues from the United States and 110 other countries and
territories, valued at $40 trillion. Last year, DTCC settled more than
$1.8 quadrillion in securities transactions. DTCC has operating
facilities in multiple locations in the United States and overseas.
For more information on DTCC, visit www.dtcc.com.