BlackRock, Inc. Affirms 2002 Consensus Estimate and 2003 Outlook.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2002

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Chairman and CEO, Laurence D. Fink, is expected to speak today at the Merrill Lynch Banking and Financial Services Conference.

In anticipation of today's presentation, BlackRock announced that under current market conditions, management remains comfortable with the consensus estimate for 2002 earnings of $2.04 per diluted share. The Company also gave preliminary guidance for 2003 earnings ranging from $2.28 to $2.38 per diluted share. The 2003 estimate, which corresponds to a year-over-year increase of 12% - 17%, reflects current market conditions, including slower revenue growth expectations, but higher operating margins.

On July 12, 2002, BlackRock reported net income of $66.2 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.01 for the first half of 2002, an increase of 28% and 26% respectively from the same period in 2001.

Mr. Fink commented, "The markets over the last 12 months have been as difficult as any I can remember, but BlackRock's team has worked well together to navigate these challenges, and I remain optimistic that we will continue to meet our clients' and shareholders' expectations."

About BlackRock. BlackRock is one of the largest publicly traded investment management firms in the United States with $250 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2002. BlackRock manages assets on behalf of institutional and individual investors worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, liquidity and alternative investment products. In addition, BlackRock provides risk management and investment system services to a growing number of institutional investors under the BlackRock Solutions name. Clients are served from the Company's headquarters in New York City, as well as offices in Wilmington, San Francisco, Boston, Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Tokyo. BlackRock is majority-owned by The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) and by BlackRock employees.

Forward Looking Statements. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "prospects," "opportunity," "expectations," "optimistic," "pessimistic," "currently," "intention," "estimate," "position," "assume," "potential," "outlook," "continue," "remain," "maintain," "sustain," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or similar expressions. BlackRock cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and BlackRock assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: (1) the introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives and strategies; (2) changes in political, economic or industry conditions, the interest rate environment or financial and capital markets, which could result in changes in demand for products or services or in the value of assets under management; (3) the investment performance of BlackRock's advised or sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts; (4) the impact of increased competition; (5) the impact of capital improvement projects; (6) the impact of future acquisitions; (7) the unfavorable resolution of legal proceedings; (8) the extent and timing of any share repurchases; (9) the impact, extent and timing of technological changes and the adequacy of intellectual property protection; and (10) the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to BlackRock or PNC; and (11) terrorist activities, including the September 11 terrorist attacks, which may adversely affect the general economy, financial and capital markets, specific industries, and BlackRock.