The Philadelphia Stock Exchange And Philadelphia Board Of Trade To Begin Trading Options And Futures On U.S. Treasury Securities

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) and its wholly owned subsidiary Philadelphia Board of Trade (PBOT) announced today that it will list for trading an extensive array of cash-settled interest rate derivatives based on U.S. Treasury Securities subject to final regulatory approval. PBOT is slated to begin trading futures on U.S. Treasury Securities in January 2006. All futures contracts will track "On the Run" U.S. Treasuries, and are designed to simplify market calculations for hedging transactions and increase price transparency for both hedgers and speculators. Contract specifications will also greatly decrease basis risk and incidental effect from cash market distortions.

Salient features of PHLX / PBOT Treasury Options and Futures are:

1. Cash-settlement will be equivalent to the most liquid "On the Run" Treasury issues
2. Contracts for maturities of 2, 3, 5, 10, and 30 years

" PHLX is executing its strategy of trading multiple product classes on one screen. U.S. Treasury Options and Futures bring to our customer base numerous trading opportunities in a streaming quote environment,” said PHLX Vice President of New Products, Daniel Carrigan. “PBOT will offer futures products at a competitive cost to ensure that the investing public is not captive to market center convergence – at the same time innovative product design will greatly reduce distortions with the cash market,” Carrigan added.

About the PHLX
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange was founded in 1790. The PHLX trades 2,000 stocks, 1,700 equity options, 25 sectors index options and currency options and futures. For more information about the PHLX and its products, visit www.phlx.com.