Paris, October 6, 1998 -- Under an innovative agreement, the Montreal Stock Exchange's benchmark BAX¹ contract has been available electronically on NSC since 2 October, in addition to open outcry trading.

The move makes BAX accessible to all of the Montreal exchange's Europe-based members equipped with GL screens, from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Paris time (2.00 a.m. to 7.00 a.m. Montreal time), i.e., prior to the opening of floor trading in Montreal (8.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.).

The Montreal Stock Exchange's decision to adopt NSC and extend trading hours in BAX contracts follows similar decisions by a dozen of other exchanges around the world. The system is now well-positioned to become an international standard.

"NSC has now been adopted by four major markets in North and South America: Sao Paulo, Latin America's largest exchange; the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world's premier futures markets; the Toronto Stock Exchange and now the Montreal Stock Exchange," notes SBF Group chairman Jean-François Théodore, whose organization developed the system. "NSC is used in France for all market segments managed by the SBF Group: equities, bonds, equity and index derivatives, interest-rate derivatives and commodity futures. It can be adapted to meet the precise needs of other markets seeking an advanced open-architecture system," he added.

Contact:
Antoinette Bouvier-Darpy - Tel: + 33 1 40 28 83 89
Nathalie Boschat - Tel: +44 171 332 59 20

¹ BAX is a 3-month interest-rate future that serves as a benchmark for bank transactions in commercial paper