Third-Strongest Month At Eurex With Some 100 Million Contracts Traded - 781 Million Contracts Traded In 2003 To Date - Record Turnover In Option On DJ Euro STOXX 50 And Eurex Bonds

Eurex, the international derivatives market, posted its third-highest monthly volume to date with some 100 million contracts traded in September (after 106 million contracts in March 2003 and 102 million contracts in June 2003). Compared with September 2002 (83.6 million contracts), Eurex volume increased by about 19 percent. From January to September 2003, the world's largest derivatives market turned over 781 million contracts, about 31 percent higher than the number traded during the same period of 2002 (597million contracts). In addition, Eurex posted record results in September in options on the DJ Euro STOXX 50 as well as in Eurex Bonds. A total of 52.6 million contracts were traded and cleared in fixed-income products at Eurex in September, the third-highest volume ever posted in this segment. The Euro-Bund future, with 23 million contracts traded, topped its September 2002 volume by 15 percent. Volume in the Euro-Bobl future was 19 percent higher than the previous year's volume for the month (10.3 million contracts), rising to 14.6 million contracts traded. Turnover in Euro-Schatz futures, at 11.4 million contracts, was 12 percent higher than in September 2002 (10.1 million contracts).

In equity-based derivatives, 47 million contracts were traded in September, the second-highest volume posted to date in this segment (after March 2003, with 47.8 million contracts). The total comprises 29.4 million contracts in equity-index derivatives and 17.6 million in equity options. Trading in Dutch equity options was especially active with 736,000 contracts in turnover at Eurex, topping the September 2002 volume by 121 percent and achieving a market share of more than 14 percent. In the French equity options segment, with 170,000 contracts traded, Eurex achieved 400 percent growth compared with September 2002.

With 6.8 million contracts traded, the option on the European benchmark index DJ Euro STOXX 50 set a new record in monthly volume (previous record: 6.2 million contracts in March 2003); the future on the DJ Euro STOXX 50, with 15.5 million contracts traded, achieved its second-highest monthly volume (after 16.5 million in March 2003). The equity-index segment, with 29.4 million contracts traded, posted its second-highest volume, after 32.8 million contracts in March 2003.

Eurex Bonds, the electronic trading platform that rounds out the Eurex offerings in the fixed-income segment, turned over 18.6 billion euros (single counting) in September, setting a new record (previous record: 18.4 billion euros in October 2002); this corresponds to 54 percent growth compared with September 2002 (12 billion euros).