ABN AMRO Backs Tradepoint Consortium

Tradepoint Financial Networks plc ("Tradepoint") announced yesterday that ABN AMRO Bank N.V. has joined the Consortium of international brokerage and financial services firms led by Instinet. ABN AMRO will take a 9.02% stake in the consortium, equal to the stake of those who have joined since September. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. There are now eleven major brokerage and financial-service firms in the consortium: Instinet Corporation, the leader of the Consortium, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reuters Group PLC (Nasdaq: RTRSY) and the world's largest agency broker; American Century, a leading U.S.- based mutual fund company with more than $85 billion in assets under management; Archipelago, a premier U.S. Electronic Communications Network (ECN); and the leading global financial firms J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Co (NYSE: MWD), Warburg Dillon Read, Credit Suisse First Boston, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and now ABN AMRO. Nick Bannister, Global Head of Equities at ABN AMRO, commented: "Today's investment by ABN AMRO underlines our commitment to be at the forefront of market developments. In particular, ABN AMRO is committed to promoting more efficient markets and enhanced access to liquidity for its clients." Richard Kilsby, Chief Executive of Tradepoint added: "We are delighted that ABN AMRO has decided to join the Consortium. The addition of another major international investment bank to the list of shareholders is further evidence of the support for Tradepoint's exchange model and is particularly timely given our plans to develop in Europe." Doug Atkin, CEO of Instinct Corporation said: "Today's investment by ABN AMRO is further validation of the benefits of the for profit electronic stock exchange model that has become prevalent throughout Europe. Instinet has long endorsed the for-profit exchange model as a means for investors to gain greater efficiencies from the world's financial markets. The investments by the Tradepoint consortium members is an indication of the direction the world's financial markets need to move."