ISDA Issues Call for Participation for FpML Energy and Validation Working Groups, Schedules Fall FpML Conferences.

Bussiness Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 2002

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) today issued a call for participation for two new working groups for the Financial products Markup Language (FpML) standard -- Energy and Validation.

FpML is the XML-based, freely licensed, e-commerce standard supporting OTC trading of financial derivatives.

The energy working group will extend the FpML standard to include energy derivatives, while the validation working group will examine the business rules for validating FpML and the technical implementation of these business rules. The full charter of both working groups can be found at: www.fpml.org/wg/index.asp. Those interested in participating in one or both of these working groups can do so by completing the participation form on the FpML web site: http://www.fpml.org/wg/joining/join-form.asp.

ISDA has scheduled its first ever FpML conferences for November 19 in New York and December 13 in London. The conferences will provide an overview of all developments that have taken place on the FpML front since the second half of 2001 as well as the challenges FpML faces ahead. A panel discussion on industry standards and on the practical application of FpML will also be held. The afternoon sessions will consist of detailed information on the current specifications in the different asset classes as defined in version 3.0 and version 4.0. The complete conference agenda is available on the ISDA web site: www.isda.org.

FpML is a business information exchange standard for electronic dealing and processing of financial derivatives instruments. It establishes the industry protocol for sharing information on, and dealing in, complex financial products over the Internet. It is based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), the standard meta-language for describing data shared between applications. Currently focusing on interest rate derivatives, FX, equity derivatives and credit derivatives, FpML will eventually cover all categories of privately negotiated derivatives.

ISDA is the global trade association representing leading participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry. ISDA was chartered in 1985, and today has more than 590 member institutions from 46 countries on six continents. These members include most of the world's major institutions that deal in privately negotiated derivatives, as well as many of the businesses, governmental entities and other end users that rely on over-the-counter derivatives to manage efficiently the financial market risks inherent in their core economic activities. Information about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association's web site: www.isda.org.