CalPERS President Outlines Three Critical Steps Needed at New York Stock Exchange to Restore Investor Confidence.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2003

Sean Harrigan, President of CalPERS Board of Administration today outlined the next three critical steps the New York Stock Exchange must take to restore investor credibility in the financial markets.

In a teleconference call from the Chicago Stock Exchange, Harrigan said of the embattled NYSE, "The only thing that has happened at the NYSE up until now was cutting the tops off of the dandelions. Now it is time to travel down through the stems to get to the roots of the problem, and quick."

Harrigan believes the next three steps to restore investor confidence are:

-- Finding a permanent chairman with impeccable credentials who

can meet the needs of NYSE's ultimate customer - the

investors;

-- Forming a much smaller and accountable NYSE board, a material

component of which should be made up of investors; and

-- Adopting a permanent corporate governance structure that will

serve as a model for the world's financial markets that

includes an independent nominating committee and transparency

of compensation and financial statements.

"The NYSE must represent the true people who own stocks, especially the working people," said Harrigan. "These are Americans who rely on their stock investments for such things as their present and future retirement, and their kids' college education."

"These steps are crucial to protect and preserve the credibility of our entire capital system," he said. "I join my fellow CalPERS board members in saying that we will not rest until these three steps have been taken. We will not rest until our vision becomes reality."

For a copy of Harrigan's remarks, visit CalPERS Press Room at www.calpers.ca.gov.

CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund with assets of $145 billion.