Critical Path's Directory Solutions Empower BNP Paribas With Improved Management of Mission Critical Corporate Information.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2000

Critical Path's InJoin Meta-Directory Enables Leading

Multi-National Bank To Centrally Manage Directories

Throughout The World

Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTH), the dominant global provider of business-to-business Internet messaging and collaboration solutions, today announced that BNP Paribas, a leading multi-national bank, has selected Critical Path's InJoin(TM) Meta-Directory solution, to unite disparate data sources throughout the bank's worldwide operations. InJoin Meta-Directory enables BNP Paribas to centrally manage all of the Bank's corporate directory data, resulting in improved information management, authentication, security, internal and external communications and significant cost savings.

Following a merger that left the new leading European bank with a range of data sources, BNP Paribas chose Critical Path's InJoin Meta-Directory to consolidate disparate directories into a single, secure and centrally managed directory. The reliability, scalability and flexibility of Critical Path's industry-leading meta-directory solution, has allowed BNP Paribas to establish a single global repository of both internal and external identity and profile information, which has simplified the management, maintenance and distribution of sensitive financial data.

"InJoin Meta-Directory enables us to centrally manage the global administration and integration of BNP Paribas's information systems, eliminating the need for a vast number of telephone, mail and access control directories," said Jean-Charles Humblot, IT expert with BNP Paribas. "Previously the only way for us to synchronize data throughout the organization was to do it manually, which was a time and labor intensive process. InJoin Meta-Directory has enabled us to streamline internal operations, improve efficiency and has provided significant cost savings. By unifying our directories into one source, we are able to provide accurate, up-to-date, mission critical information to employees, customers and trading partners."

Internally, InJoin Meta-Directory allows BNP Paribas to manage a unified and secure email system, and provides the ability to control access to resources and applications through user authentication. In addition, InJoin Meta-Directory enables BNP Paribas to provide its customers with an integrated view of all of their financial information, allowing them to access their current accounts, mortgages, loans and investments from a central point.

"Information is a company's most valuable asset and InJoin Meta-Directory is the most reliable and scalable solution for effectively and securely uniting mission critical information across the enterprise," said Doug Hickey, CEO of Critical Path. "Critical Path is committed to providing complete end-to-end Internet messaging solutions to address the increasingly complex communication demands of businesses worldwide."

According to a recent Gartner Group report, the average Fortune 500 company uses 181 different directories. Critical Path's InJoin Meta-Directory allows companies to connect separate, non-interoperable data sources and creates a single complete view of an organization's directory data. InJoin Meta-Directory empowers businesses by enabling them to consolidate their customer databases, e-commerce software, ERP, HR and other internal applications into one overarching, seamless e-business system. By creating a unified directory resource, InJoin Meta-Directory reduces administrative costs and increases the quality of information available to users and applications alike.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is France's largest listed banking group. It ranks first in the euro-zone in terms of net income and third in Europe for stockholders' equity. It is among the five top euro-zone banks by market capitalization. The BNP Paribas merger is a major event in European banking history. The new Group has one of the most extensive international networks in the world, with offices in 83 countries organized around seven preeminent financial centers. It also has a real capacity for innovation and true expertise in new technologies and distribution channels. Thanks to the complementarity of its commercial and financial activities, BNP Paribas already stands out as an international player in the areas of corporate banking, capital markets, international private banking and asset management.

About Critical Path, Inc.

Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTH) is the dominant global provider of complete end-to-end Internet messaging and collaboration solutions for wireless, Internet-centric, telecommunication and corporate businesses. Through its AllSourcing strategy, Critical Path is the only advanced messaging provider to offer businesses the flexibility to outsource, midsource or insource all or part of their messaging and collaboration applications. Critical Path has built an industry-leading global infrastructure with data centers connected to key Internet exchange points. Critical Path's technology currently reaches more than 100 million end-users through its customer relationships and more than 25 million wireless devices. Critical Path provides reliable, secure, and scalable e-mail and a flexible suite of enhanced messaging services to partners such as E*TRADE, CompuServe, Network Solutions, U S West, Sprint, France Telecom, British Telecommunications and ICQ. Critical Path is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in locations nation-wide and in Germany, England, Ireland, France, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil and Argentina. More information on Critical Path can be found at www.cp.net.

Note to Editors: Critical Path and the Critical Path logo are the trademarks of Critical Path, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their holders.

The statements in this press release relating to matters that are not historical are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties facing Critical Path are described in its prospectus dated June 1, 1999 and with its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov).