Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. President and CEO Challenges Futures Industry to Seize Growth Opportunity in On-line Market.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 1999--

Speaking today at the Futures and Options World Derivatives and Risk Conference in New York, Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. President and CEO Howard W. Lutnick challenged his colleagues in the futures industry to seize the opportunity for growth in the e-commerce arena by offering their customers the opportunity to trade futures on-line.

Also the Co-Chairman of the Cantor Exchange (CX), the first full-time electronic exchange for the trading of U.S. Treasury futures, Mr. Lutnick urged the large gathering of futures industry professionals to tap into the vast customer base of retail day traders before the opportunity to do so is lost.

"With on-line day trading growing at 30% a quarter, the futures industry has an enormous opportunity to seize on this trend, and the key is providing electronic access. Toward that end, the Cantor Exchange has created the most fundamental shift in opportunity for the FCM community and the broker-dealer community in the United States by providing an electronic marketplace for futures, which can be accessed by end users only through clearing members and FCMs," said Lutnick. Laying down the challenge to his colleagues, Lutnick added, "Which futures company will be out in front in bringing the industry on-line, in allowing its customers to trade electronically? If the futures industry doesn't take this opportunity, there will be one of today's established on-line brokers who will electronically build that franchise."

The Cantor Exchange (CX) utilizes Cantor Fitzgerald's new interactive Speed technology to allow Futures Commission Merchants (FCM) to integrate access to the CX into their own desktop and provide their customers direct access to the exchange. Through its Application Programming Interface (API), Cantor Exchange enables its clearing members and FCMs to provide electronic access.

"There is an incredible new customer base who would like to be able to trade bonds or foreign exchange on-line but no one is providing them with that opportunity. The Cantor Exchange enables every FCM and any broker-dealer who wishes to become an FCM, to go into the on-line futures brokerage business. The FCM's role in this new paradigm is to shape the customer experience trading on-line, and to guarantee their credit into the market. The firm who does this best will win and capture a potentially large new customer base," added Lutnick.

Following Mr. Lutnick's address, Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus and Senior Policy Advisor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) endorsed Lutnick's view, citing the immense success of the E-mini, the fully electronic futures contract traded on the CME which has been embraced by the day trading community.

"ETrade is worth $12 billion, Ameritrade is worth $6 billion and Priceline.com is an $18 billion travel agency. The opportunity is there for a futures company to take the industry on-line, to bring them to the Internet and to allow them to trade electronically. The firm that leads the way will be the next 10 or 20 billion dollar new comer," said Lutnick.

The Cantor Exchange is a joint venture of Cantor Fitzgerald and the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT). Cantor Fitzgerald operates the trading platform for CX, utilizing the trading and distribution systems that have been perfected in Cantor Fitzgerald's highly liquid U.S. Treasury cash market. Cantor Fitzgerald provides a broad spectrum of institutional brokerage and execution services to the global financial markets. It operates the world's largest electronic marketplace for G10 sovereign debt, emerging markets, and Eurobonds and is also one of the largest "third market" equity operations in the U.S. stock market.