EuroCCP to Begin Clearing Spanish Equities in February

London/Madrid, 20 January 2009 - European Central Counterparty Ltd. (EuroCCP) announced today that it expected to begin providing low-cost clearing and settlement of equities from Spain in support of the Turquoise pan-European trading platform, beginning next month.

Some 100 equity issues in Spain will be added on Feb. 16 to the approximately 1,500 issues now cleared by EuroCCP in 14 markets in Europe in seven currencies. EuroCCP began full operations in September 2008 with about 1,300 issues in 13 markets, and added equities from Italy in October 2008.

Currently, all trades being cleared and settled by EuroCCP are traded on the Turquoise trading platform, but EuroCCP is expected to begin clearing trades from two other trading platforms which are expected to begin operations this quarter. Those platforms are SmartPool, a "dark" institutional trading platform begin established by NYSE Euronext, HSBC, BNP Paribas and JPMorgan Chase, and the NYSE Arca Europe high frequency trading platform, previously known as "Octopus."

The expansion to Spanish equity issues represents the first planned expansion of EuroCCP into European markets after its initial group of countries. Italy had been expected to be in the first group, but was delayed due to a system switchover going on in Italy's bourse. Turquoise is currently trading about a 5% market share of its most liquid 310 equity stocks available on its public book, and all those trades, plus all dark pool trades done on Turquoise, are cleared through EuroCCP.

"This marks the beginning of the next stage of EuroCCP's growth," said Diana Chan, CEO of EuroCCP. "Although we have only been in full operation for less than four months, EuroCCP has established itself as a truly capable and seamless pan-European clearing and settlement organisation. In addition to our expansion to Spain, we are looking at processing for other European markets in the coming year. We are also in active talks regarding providing central counterparty services for securities lending and borrowing. All in all, 2009 is already shaping up to be a busy year."

EuroCCP was established to provide low-cost pan-European clearing and settlement services to both multilateral trading facilities (MTFs) and exchanges, and to offer unparalled capacity, safety and business resiliency, Chan noted. Its fees are among the lowest in Europe for clearing and settlement.

"Having handled the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers before we even officially began full operations, we are very confident in our risk management capabilities," Chan said. "That increasingly is a major concern for trading firms in Europe in the current environment, and we believe the more widely we can provide high quality, low-cost clearing and settlement operations for a broader number of customers and instruments in Europe, the more likely it is to assist in restoring confidence to the markets and assist in the economic upturn."

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 initially began clearing equity trades in 13 countries and in seven different currencies.

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.