Clearstream Wins The 'Elite Quality Award' For STP

Clearstream has received the 'Elite Quality Award' by JPMorgan Chase Bank in recognition of its high quality funds transfer operations area. The award is given each year following a continual review process of industry suppliers undertaken by JPMorgan Chase Bank. The award is designed to identify and reward companies that have demonstrated specific levels of operating excellence by recognizing the 'best in class' for each operational area. The review undertaken in 2003, showed that Clearstream had clearly excelled in meeting its operating challenges and reached a 99.17 percent straight-through processing (STP) rate for its funds transfer operations area.

For the last eight years, JPMorgan Chase Bank has been awarding Institutions and Corporates with their 'Service Excellence Recognition Awards', and Clearstream has been recognized through this process in the previous 4 years as well as receiving the three year Quality Recognition award for the period between 1999 and 2001.

Matthias Ganz, Chief Operating Officer, Deutsche Börse Group said, "Straight-through processing capabilities are central to the service offering we deliver to the industry. Therefore, it is good to see our efforts being recognized by important partners but we have much more that we want to achieve with them as we look into 2005. We have established a continual program of service improvements which will further extend our service capabilities and our leading position in the industry."

This JPMorgan Chase Bank award follows another award recently received by Clearstream from the Global Custodian Magazine which rated Clearstream as the best international central securities depositary (ICSD) in the industry across all nine service categories.