BRIDGE Conducts Decimalization Testing for Customers; Financial Firms Complete Market Data Capacity Test Led by BRIDGE.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 2000

Bridge Information Systems (BRIDGE(R)), the largest provider of financial information services in North America, announced today the successful completion of a system-wide capacity test, conducted in partnership with Bear Stearns, Fidelity Investments, Inc., Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and USAA.

The capacity test was conducted in preparation for the full conversion of US equities to decimal format. Brokers and Money Managers connected to the test system in order to check BRIDGE's delivery capability and to try out their own systems. The premium workstation and data feed products BridgeStation(R) and BridgeFeed(R) were included in the test.

Industry projections indicate that the decimalization of US equities could generate a dramatic increase in market data message rates. In preparation, BRIDGE designed a test called the "Tsunami Test", to demonstrate the ability of the BRIDGE central system to handle market data rates of up to 50,000 messages per second -- about ten times the current peak message rate.

During the test, BRIDGE generated the 50,000 message per second rate for four hours, when in reality such heavy traffic would last for only 15 consecutive minutes. This helped BRIDGE clients gauge their ability to operate under very extraordinary conditions.

"BRIDGE stands alone as an industry leader in preparation for decimalization," said Jeffery Wells, Senior Vice President of BRIDGE, Director of the BRIDGE Decimalization Program and a member of the SIA Steering Committee of the Decimalization, Market Data and Vendor Committee. "By conducting worst case scenario tests, we have proven that BRIDGE is easily capable of handling any sudden large increase in market data volume due to decimalization or any other market factors and we are helping our customers prepare."

Robert Wallos, Vice President of the Information Technology Group, Market Data Engineering at Bear Stearns added "BRIDGE's Tsunami test enabled us to systematically increase the rate of data while monitoring the impact on our servers, network and workstations. Industry speculations about a future explosion in data rates make BRIDGE's innovative exercise invaluable."

The next phase of decimalization is expected to take place in January 2001. At that time, all listed equities and associated equity options will be converted to decimal format.

BRIDGE offers its BridgeStation(R), BridgeFeed(R) and BridgeChannel(SM) customers the opportunity to conduct capacity testing across their own LAN and infrastructure to test the limits of network routers, workstations and peripheral devices that could become stressed in heavy market conditions.

About BRIDGE

BRIDGE, together with its principal operating units, Bridge Information Systems, Telerate(R), Inc., eBRIDGE(SM), Bridge Trading, and BridgeNews(SM) is the largest provider of financial information and related services in North America and one of the fastest growing in the world.

BRIDGE information products include a wide range of workstations, market data feeds and web-browser-based applications, combined with comprehensive market data, in-depth news, powerful analytic tools and trading room integration systems. BridgeNews leverages a network of 600 BRIDGE journalists in more than 100 locations that break news that affect securities markets globally. BRIDGE is the co-producer of the Nightly Business Report and is a leading provider of financial news and information to media companies worldwide.

BRIDGE, with 5000 employees worldwide, and over a quarter of a million users in over 65 countries, is headquartered in New York City with the BRIDGE Trading and Technology center in St. Louis, and major regional centers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Pacific Rim. For more information visit the BRIDGE web site at http://www.bridge.com.