SSgA and Bank of Ireland Asset Management Limited Announce Joint Alliance Has Exceeded EUR 5 Billion in Assets; Alliance Offers Irish Fund Sponsors Global Scale and Efficiencies, Expert Local Service.

BOSTON, LONDON & DUBLIN -- State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) and the largest institutional fund manager in the world, today announced that its alliance with Bank of Ireland Asset Management Limited (BIAM) has gathered more than EUR 5 billion in assets to date. The alliance was formed in 2001 to jointly provide passive investment management services for Irish institutional investors.

The alliance's most recent mandate was a EUR 630 million award from An Post, Ireland's national postal service provider.

"With a growing number of Irish institutional investors seeking low risk and efficient passive investment solutions, we believe our alliance with BIAM is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of these customers," said Paul Duncombe, managing director of SSgA London. "We look forward to continuing to help our alliance clients reach their investment objectives."

"BIAM's distribution and servicing capabilities combined with SSgA's global reach and investment expertise, makes our indexation offering an excellent part of our solutions for clients," said Peter Wood, director and head of Irish Institutional Business at BIAM. "Together we offer a world class product to meet clients' investment goals and risk management requirements. We look forward to growing these assets in the near future."

For alliance clients, SSgA provides portfolio indexation services while BIAM provides asset allocation, as well as sales, marketing, and on-going client service. The assets are invested in a range of exempt unit trust funds, or tax efficient pooled funds for the Irish pension fund market.

State Street Global Advisors, the investment management group of State Street Corporation, delivers investment strategies and integrated solutions to clients worldwide across every asset class, investment approach and style. With $1.4 trillion (as of September 30, 2005) in investment programs and portfolios, State Street Global Advisors has investment centers in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Milan, Montreal, Munich, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Zurich, and offices in 26 cities worldwide. For more information, visit State Street Global Advisors at www.ssga.com.

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading specialist in providing institutional investors with investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $9.8 trillion in assets under custody and $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2005, State Street operates in 25 countries and more than 100 markets worldwide. For more information, visit State Street's Web site at www.statestreet.com.

Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) is the investment management arm of the Bank of Ireland Group. Established in 1966, BIAM currently manages circa EUR 44 billion as at September 2005, on behalf of a wide range of clients in Ireland, the UK, North America, Continental Europe, Japan, Australia and South Africa. With headquarters in Dublin, BIAM has operations in the United States, Canada, UK, Australia, and Japan.

Bank of Ireland Group is the leading provider of financial services in the Republic of Ireland and has a major presence in the UK market. It employs 17,000 people, has assets of EUR 126 billion, and employees in 8 countries.

Bank of Ireland Asset Management Limited is authorised by the Financial Regulator under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. Bank of Ireland is licensed by the Financial Regulator. State Street Global Advisors is authorised and regulated by the FSA.