Royal Bank of Scotland to Participate in State Street's Multi-bank Foreign Exchange System; to Offer Futures Trading Products On State Street's E-finance Network.

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON and LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2001

Underscores State Street's First-Mover Advantage as Only Provider

of Full-Service e-Finance Network Operating across Multiple Assets

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), the world's leading specialist in meeting the needs of sophisticated global investors, and The Royal Bank of Scotland, a major force in European banking, today announced that they have signed an agreement under which RBS Financial Markets will participate in State Street's e-finance network, Global Link(R). They will be part of the network's multi-bank foreign exchange marketplace and also be the first bank to offer Futures trading and clearing over this network.

Global Link serves as State Street's central network for providing a broad array of advanced e-finance applications and services with full connectivity to global investment managers' chosen trading destinations. The private network, currently used by 262 asset management companies, including 15 of the world's 20 largest, offers industry-leading world market research, analytics and trade execution services developed across multiple assets, including equities, foreign-exchange and fixed income. Global Link's users, spanning 21 countries, collectively manage over half of the world's professionally managed cross-border assets.

"Forging a partnership with a premier institution like The Royal Bank of Scotland underscores our commitment to providing an open e-finance network where investors, portfolio managers and banks can conduct sophisticated investments online in a secure, real-time environment." said Simon Wilson-Taylor, senior vice president and worldwide head of Global Link. "In joining Global Link, RBS, as a leading provider of foreign exchange, risk management and structured derivatives to the global fund management community, further expands the base of tier-one bank counterparties participating in the network's forex marketplace, FX Connect, and increases the liquidity and flexibility available through the system."

Wilson-Taylor continued: "Additionally, RBS introduces advanced Futures trading and clearing products to Global Link, providing users with electronic access to an important, growing market and further diversifying the array of e-finance products we offer."

Brian Crowe, managing director, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Financial Markets, said, "We are pleased to partner with State Street to make Futures trading and clearing available to Global Link and our forex trading capabilities to FX Connect. We see these as significant elements in our strategy of being able to serve our clients through whichever trading platforms they may choose and for diversifying the distribution of both our Futures and forex products. Through Global Link's FX Connect we will be able to provide our clients with the liquidity and choice they require through an extremely efficient and cost effective electronic format."

Crowe concluded, " Offering our Futures products through Global Link enables us to reach a wider group of the world's leading investors and become part of a next-generation e-finance network that provides products and services for the entire investment process across multiple markets and asset classes."

FX Connect is a real-time, interactive foreign exchange execution tool accessible through Global Link that seamlessly interfaces with client's existing systems, enabling users to more effectively integrate forex trading into their portfolio execution process. The system's ability to transact, forward and swap block trades across an unlimited number of accounts, and through multiple banks, creates tremendous flexibility and transactional efficiencies for its users. Twenty-two banks have committed to participating as counterparties in FX Connect to date, collectively representing approximately 40 percent of the total sellside market's liquidity.

About The Royal Bank of Scotland:

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, founded in 1727, is one of Europe's leading financial services groups and one of the largest banks in the UK, operating in Britain and throughout the world. In March 2000 it acquired National Westminster Bank plc, creating an enlarged Group with a diversified range of businesses spanning retail and corporate banking, treasury and capital markets, financial services, investment management and insurance.

Following the acquisition of NatWest, The Royal Bank's Treasury & Capital Markets division, NatWest Global Financial Markets and the UK based Greenwich NatWest have been combined to create The Royal Bank of Scotland, Financial Markets. The combined entity provides specialist services in global foreign exchange, currency and structured derivatives, money markets, together with a wide range of interest rate management services to The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest international corporate and institutional client base. For more information, please access www.rbsmarkets.com

With $6.1 trillion in assets under custody and $711 billion under management, State Street Corporation is the world's leading specialist in meeting the needs of sophisticated global investors. Offices are located in the United States, Canada, Chile, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Ireland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, United Arab Emirates, Russia, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. State Street Corporation's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol STT. For more information, visit State Street's web site at www.statestreet.com.