The following issues will be added to the Financial-100 Index: Annuity and Life Re (Holdings) (ALRE); Data Broadcasting Corporation (DBCC); American Capital Strategies, Ltd. (ACAS); First Charter Corporation (FCTR); Texas Regional Bancshares, Inc. (TRBS).
Annuity and Life Re (Holdings), Ltd., provides annuity and life reinsurance to insurers through its wholly owned subsidiary, Annuity and Life Reassurance, Ltd. The Bermuda-incorporated company had a market capitalization of $551.4 million at the time of selection.
Data Broadcasting Corporation is a provider of financial and business information to institutional and individual investors. DBC delivers real-time, end-of-day and historically archived data to customers through a variety of products featuring Internet, dedicated line, satellite and dial-up delivery protocols. The Bedford, Massachusetts, company had a market capitalization of $447.4 million at the time of selection.
American Capital Strategies, Ltd., is a buyout and mezzanine fund. It acts as an equity partner in management and employee buyout transactions; purchases debt and equity in support of companies led by private equity firms, and makes direct investments in private and small public companies. American Capital funds growth, acquisitions, and recapitalizations. The Bethesda, Maryland, company had a market capitalization of $443.0 million at the time of selection.
First Charter Corporation is a regional financial services company operating throughout the greater Charlotte metropolitan area. First Charter provides businesses and individuals with a range of financial services, including banking, comprehensive financial planning, funds management, investments, insurance, mortgages, and employee benefit programs. The Concord, North Carolina, company had a market capitalization of $431.5 million at the time of selection.
Texas Regional Bancshares, Inc., is a registered bank holding company whose wholly owned subsidiary, Texas State Bank, conducts a commercial banking business in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The McAllen, Texas, company had a market capitalization of $414.9 million at the time of selection.
These component adjustments ensure that the Index represents the largest domestic and international issues of financial companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market® and improve the Index's value as a benchmark for institutional and individual investors.
All securities in the Index are among the top 150 eligible securities based on closing prices as of April 28, 2000, and the publicly available total shares outstanding as of May 31, 2000. Financial-100 issues ranked 101 through 150 in market value will be replaced by larger eligible securities unless the security was in the top 100 eligible securities during the previous year's ranking.
Eligibility criteria for the Index includes the following: the security must be a financial company; only one class of security per issuer is allowed; the security may not be issued by an issuer currently in bankruptcy proceedings; the security must have "seasoned" on the Nasdaq Stock Market or another recognized market (generally, a company is considered to be seasoned by Nasdaq if it has been listed on a market for at least two years; in the case of spin-offs, the operating history of the spin-off will be considered); if a security would otherwise qualify to be in the top 25 percent of the issuers included in the Index by market capitalization, then a one year "seasoning" criteria would apply; if the security is of a foreign issuer, it must be eligible for listed options trading; and a company may not be included if it has entered into a definitive agreement or other arrangement that would result in the company no longer being listed on the Nasdaq National Market within the next six months.
As a result of the addition of the above companies to the Financial-100 Index, the following companies will be removed: AMRESCO, Inc. (AMMB); Corus Bankshares, Inc. (CORS); Harris Financial, Inc. (HARS); HealthAxis Inc. (HAXS); Northwest Bancorp, Inc. (NWSB).
The Financial-100 Index was launched in January 1985. The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. is a subsidiary of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD®), the largest securities-industry, self-regulatory organization in the United States.
The Nasdaq Stock Market lists nearly 5,200 companies, has the largest dollar volume of trades of any financial market, and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. Current market capitalization as of May 31, 2000 is $4.7 trillion. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the Nasdaq NewsroomSM at www.nasdaqnews.com.
