500 Companies On Xetra Have Designated Sponsors - Deutsche Börse Introduces New Performance Rating Model

The number of companies with so-called Designated Sponsors to provide for additional liquidity has increased further: At the beginning of November, over 500 companies had Designated Sponsors for trading in their shares. Starting in January, Deutsche Börse AG will evaluate the performance of the Designated Sponsors with a rating. The rating consists of two letters describing and evaluating the Designated Sponsor's average trading presence and average spread between the bid and ask quotes. A top "AA" rating means that the Designated Sponsor has continuously supplied quotes with a very narrow spread in trading. A trial rating was calculated for October 1999: 24 Designated Sponsors received the top rating of "AA". As of January 2000, the rating will be published with the Designated Sponsor's name on a quarterly basis. The main task of the banks or securities trading firms that function as Designated Sponsors is to enter bid and ask prices (quotes) in Xetra®. This boosts liquidity and price quality in the shares for which they are registered as sponsors. The Designated Sponsors can supplement this support with other services, such as research and advising the firms on investor relations or in meeting their disclosure obligations. Further information from the Gruppe Deutsche Boerse is available under http://www.media-relations.exchange.de or call us at +49 69-2101-1500.