Mark-it Signs Contract with Barclays Group

London - 08 September 2003 - Mark-it Partners Ltd. ("Mark-it") today announced that it has signed a global agreement with Barclays that covers both Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors (BGI). This is the first deal of its kind for Mark-it.

Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC, will supply its historical and current credit data to Mark-it Partners. In return, the bank will have access to Mark-it's full range of services including daily mark-to-market data for their global credit default swaps (CDS) and cash bonds, CDS curve analytics, sector curve construction and the associated set of historical data.

"We are excited by the business prospects offered by this agreement. The value-added of the information made available through Mark-it Partners will assist us in a variety of ways," claims Vince Balducci, Managing Director, Head of Global Credit Derivatives for Barclays Capital.

BGI, Barclay's fund management division, will utilise the Mark-it system globally across various functions--including assisting portfolio managers with their investment decisions and providing independent daily valuation of their credit portfolios.

Justin Herlihy, Principal, Head of Fixed Income Product Development in London for BGI, said "We've anticipated the availability of independent daily credit pricing data for some time. Mark-It's service will provide us with the additional market information necessary to better monitor our positions, manage our risk and support our operations."

Lance Uggla, Chief Executive of Mark-it Partners comments, "The addition of Barclays Capital's credit data will further enhance the depth of our data coverage. We look forward to working with Barclays and BGI and in continuing to consolidate our position as the definitive credit pricing service. "Mark-it's assembly of partners includes the thirteen institutions listed below:

Mark-it Contributing Partners

ABN AMRO Bank of America Salomon Smith Barney Credit Suisse First Boston Deutsche Bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Goldman Sachs

JPMorgan Chase Bank Lehman Brothers Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley TD Securities UBS Warburg LLC

About Mark-it Partners Ltd

Launched in February 2003, Mark-it Partners Ltd (www.mark-it.com) is an independent company offering the world's first daily service for pricing credit derivatives and cash credit instruments, providing credit data to any market participant for the first time.

Mark-it Partners contributing Partners include ABN Amro, Bank of America, Salomon Smith Barney, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, TD Securities, UBS Warburg LLC. These banks feed current and historical credit data into the Mark-it system on a daily basis, facilitating better decision-making and credit risk management within banks' credit operations.

About Barclays Capital

Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays PLC. The firm employs over 5,000 staff and has significant operations in all the world?s major financial centers, including regional headquarters in London, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Barclays Capital is debt focused, providing its clients with a broad range of financing and risk management products. Barclays Capital acts internationally as intermediary and adviser to corporations, financial institutions, governments and supranational organizations, and has the global reach and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide.

About Barclays Global Investors (BGI)

Barclays Global Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers*, providing structured investment strategies such as indexing, tactical asset allocation, and risk-controlled active strategies. In the US, BGI is one of the largest active managers*, set apart by its risk-controlled approach. BGI managed $897 billion in assets as of June 30, 2003, and over 2,000 funds for more than 2,200 clients in 39 countries around the world. BGI is an innovator in investment management, applying science and technology to the investment process. BGI has over 2,000 employees worldwide and is owned by Barclays PLC, one of the UK's largest companies, and one of the world's leading global financial services providers, with operations in over 60 countries.