Citi, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & The Bank of New York Mellon Announce Formation of Open Platform

Open Platform for Unregistered Securities

August 14, 2007, New York, NY – Citi, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and The Bank of New York Mellon today announced the establishment of Open Platform for Unregistered Securities ("OPUS-5"), which will provide trade reservation, shareholder tracking and transfer management for privately offered equity securities transacted under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933.

OPUS-5 will support and enable an open platform with multiple market makers and is designed to provide broad liquidity to the U.S. private placement market and facilitate greater access to capital for issuers in the 144A equities market. The platform will also monitor the number of shareholders in these issues. OPUS-5 is expected to launch in September 2007.

The participation in OPUS-5 by four of the world's leading securities firms and The Bank of New York Mellon as independent administrator will promote liquidity and efficiency for qualified institutional buyers who trade 144A equity securities and enhance issuers' capital raising efforts. Additional securities firms are expected to participate in OPUS-5 over time.

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Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com

Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers, an innovator in global finance, serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals worldwide. Founded in 1850, Lehman Brothers maintains leadership positions in equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, investment banking, private investment management, asset management and private equity. The Firm is headquartered in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Tokyo, and operates in a network of offices around the world.

For further information about Lehman Brothers' services, products and recruitment opportunities, visit the Firm's Web site at www.lehman.com

Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 38 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.7 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns approximately half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management.

For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com

Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 600 offices in 32 countries.

For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com

The Bank of New York Mellon
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and move their financial assets, operating in 37 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has more than $20 trillion in assets under custody and administration and more than $1 trillion in assets under management.

Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com

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Source: Citigroup

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