Press

Statement of The Clearing Corporation and Eurex Clearing AG
The Clearing Corporation and Eurex Clearing AG, responding to correspondence received from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued the following statement:

The March 28, 2004 launch date referenced in our joint press release issued on December 16, 2003 for the launch of the Global Clearing Link between The Clearing Corporation and Eurex Clearing represents the clearing organizations' targeted implementation date and is subject to prior satisfaction of applicable U.S. and European regulatory requirements and finalization of all required regulatory action.

Further, the February 1, 2004 date referred to in connection with US Futures Exchange’s launch, is also subject to CFTC approval of USFE’s application for designation as a U.S. contract market. Statements contained in the December 16, 2003 joint press statement relating to these dates are, accordingly, hereby retracted and superseded by the foregoing.

The Clearing Corporation and Eurex Clearing are working to ensure that the Global Clearing Link obtains all necessary regulatory approval and that the Global Clearing Link is fully acceptable to both U.S. and European regulators.

The Clearing Corporation and Eurex Clearing finalize details of Global Clearing Link
Phased implementation of clearing services for link and extended trading hours/Clearing of Eurex US on track for February 1/Ferscha: Link will unite U.S. and European trading spheres in a harmonized clearing environment/ Consultation process with regulators under way

The Clearing Corporation (CCorp) and Eurex Clearing AG announced on Tuesday that they have finalized the details of their Global Clearing Link. The Global Clearing Link will give customers choice of clearing access through Eurex Clearing and CCorp for US Dollar- and Euro- denominated products traded on Eurex US and on Eurex in Europe. Customers will benefit from collateral pooling and margin offsets that will lead to potential margin savings in excess of 2.5 billion USD. These savings will result from the combined effect of an improved margining system and margin offsets. The agreement will have an initial term of seven years with automatic renewal for three years.

“Our Global Clearing Link with The Clearing Corporation will offer unprecedented opportunities for customers on both sides of the Atlantic. It will unite the U.S. and European trading spheres in a harmonized clearing environment,” said Rudolf Ferscha, CEO of Eurex.

Following consultation with both customers and regulators, CCorp and Eurex Clearing will launch the Global Clearing Link on March 28, 2004. This will permit the introduction of the link in a phased implementation after the launch of Eurex US on February 1 and will reduce the complexity of the rollout. This will also provide both clearing organizations and their respective regulators, customers and service providers an opportunity for further consultation and to address issues of mutual interest, benefiting the market as a whole. CCorp and Eurex Clearing will continue discussions with their respective U.S. and European regulators regarding the Global Clearing Link.

With the launch of Eurex US, CCorp will provide clearing services for USD- denominated products. The Global Clearing Link will then be implemented on March 28, providing additional functionality: CCorp participants will be able to carry at CCorp Euro-denominated products executed on Eurex and Eurex Clearing customers will be able to carry at Eurex Clearing USD-denominated products executed on Eurex US. Beginning September 12, 2004, CCorp will provide clearing services to enable 20-hour trading of Euro-denominated benchmark products, featuring fully harmonized processes for cross margining between CCorp and Eurex Clearing and a single collateral pool.

"The invaluable input of our clearing participants has permitted us to develop the Global Clearing Link with Eurex Clearing AG that will result in significant cost savings to market participants worldwide. Our collaborative efforts with the marketplace will enable us to offer these benefits in a timely fashion, coordinated with the February 1 launch of Eurex US," said Dennis Dutterer, President and CEO of The Clearing Corporation.

About The Clearing Corporation (www.clearingcorp.com)
The Clearing Corporation is a Delaware corporation now in its 78th year of business. The company is owned by 50 stockholders, many of whom represent the world-wide derivatives marketplace participants and market makers, and is the only active independent futures clearinghouse in the world. The Clearing Corporation is the largest clearing organization for futures in the U.S and clears over 98 percent of all U.S capital market derivatives. The Clearing Corporation offers clearing services for multiple exchanges and market places.

About Eurex Clearing (www.eurexchange.com)
Eurex Clearing AG is a full subsidiary of Eurex and the highest turnover derivatives clearing organization worldwide. In 2002 Eurex Clearing cleared 801 million derivatives contracts, for 2003 the year to date figure is 990 million contracts. Eurex Clearing is also one the largest European cash clearing organization. It provides clearing services for index futures and options (Finnish, German, Pan-European, Swiss), equity options (Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Swiss, U.S.), European benchmark fixed income futures and options (BUND, BOBL, SCHATZ), money market futures and options (Euribor and EONIA), cash equities and bonds as well as repos. The average total collateral in Eurex Clearing amounts to 20 billion euros.

About Eurex US (www.eurexus.com)
Eurex US will be a U.S. designated contract market based in Chicago, Illinois. Eurex US market participants will have direct access to a complete range of benchmark USD and EUR denominated interest rate futures and options on futures as well as equity index futures. With a democratic business model and no membership costs, Eurex US will offer low trading fees to all users, along with widely recognized advantages of electronic trading, such as transparency and fair access. The Eurex US trading platform will utilize the same successful Eurex technology as the system on which currently more than 80 percent of all U.S. bond futures are traded.