At their General Meeting in Prague, the Association of National Numbering Agencies ("ANNA"), the ANNA membership elected and appointed the remaining three ANNA Service Bureau Advisory Board members. These individuals will represent the ANNA membership and oversee the implementation and running of the new entity entitled the "ANNA Service Bureau".

The election of the new ANNA Service Bureau Advisory Board furthers ANNA's commitment to facilitate the industry's movement towards Straight Through Processing. The ANNA Service Bureau was created to improve upon all aspects of the timely, accurate and standardised identification of financial instruments, as well as the equitable collection and distribution of this information to the global marketplace. The Service Bureau will act as the central hub to receive and consolidate ISIN data from the ANNA members (61 and 15 partners) and disseminate this information to the market via downloadable FTP and web-based solutions.

The Service Bureau has also been authorised to provide solutions to the industry's ongoing requirement to link and cross-reference the single ISO numbering standard, ISIN, with the inclusion of local numbering agencies data to ensure comprehensive for the global marketplace.

The ANNA Service Bureau Advisory Board consists of the following members:

''Having now worked diligently to create the ANNA Service Bureau, the ANNA Board of Directors are extremely pleased with the involvement and commitment by our members. We are convinced that the establishment of the ASB will prove to be a major step to meet the demands and request from the industry.' said Mr. Niels Hougaard, chairman of ANNA.''

ANNA is the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 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 and an additional 15 entities that are represented as ANNA partners. The numbering agencies are responsible for the identification of financial instruments using ISIN, which is a key component of STP.

The work to develop the ANNA Service Bureau structure has been 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 ("GSTPA"), the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) to ensure market requirements are met. 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 and 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 and 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 USD 4 billion. For more information about Standard and Poor's go to http://www.standardandpoors.com.