Press Release Details

Reuters and J.P. Morgan set up new Risk Information Company

October 14, 1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

London - Reuters, the global information and news group, has joined J.P. Morgan as the major shareholders in a new company, The RiskMetrics Group, which will offer specialised data and calculation tools for the risk management community.

The RiskMetrics Group will build upon existing J.P. Morgan risk estimation products, such as RiskMetrics® and CreditMetrics®, to provide a unique source of information for risk managers. Reuters will supply financial market data to the new company, and plans to offer the finished products via its global network. The RiskMetrics Group will continue to offer the existing RiskMetrics® and CreditMetrics® products free of charge via the public Internet, as well as a new range of chargeable products.

The new company will combine Reuters strengths as the world's largest distributor of financial market data with the expertise built up within J.P. Morgan in risk estimation.

Krishna Biltoo, Director, Money Markets for Reuters and its representative on the RiskMetrics Group board, said: "The new entity adds significant dimensions in market and credit risk information to the global financial database available to Reuters customers. We are very pleased to draw upon the expertise developed at J.P.Morgan to enter this promising market."

Ethan Berman, formerly Managing Director and head of Morgan's risk products group and now the Chief Executive Officer of the new company, said: "The new entity will give us a more flexible, focused and responsive vehicle for delivering the risk management expertise of J.P. Morgan and other top-tier financial institutions to an expanding client base. The numerous requests we currently receive for new research, data analytics and training can be more easily met through a group whose sole focus is risk management."

The existing J.P. Morgan risk products, which will now be managed by the new company, are used by over 10,000 risk managers worldwide.

End

Contact:

Peter V. Thomas Tel: 0171 250 1122

Director, Media Relations

Adrian Duffield Tel: 0171 250 1122

Manager, Corporate Relations

Geoff Wicks

Director, Corporate Relations Tel: 0171 250 1122

Krishna Biltoo Tel: 0171 542 8950

Director, Money Markets

Note to editors

Reuters supplies the global financial markets and the news media with the widest range of information and news products including real-time financial data, collective investment data, numerical, textual, historical and graphical databases plus news, graphics, news video, and news pictures, reaching 457,000 users located in 57,200 organisations. Reuters designs and installs enterprise-wide information management and risk management systems for the financial markets as well as providing equity and foreign exchange transaction systems. It extensively uses internet technologies for wider distribution of information and news. The Group employed 16,699 staff in 215 cities in 91 countries at 30 June 1998.

Reuters is the world's largest news and television agency with 2,035 journalists, photographers and camera operators in 169 bureaux serving 163 countries. News is published in 25 languages.

For more details see www.reuters.com/aboutreuters/media.

Reuters and the dotted and sphere logos are the house trademarks of Reuters Limited.