Business & Money Trail:

S&P CONQUEST CMBS DATA TO BE IN SALOMON'S YIELD BOOK

Standard & Poor's and Salomon Analytics Inc announced an agreement to make Conquest commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) data and cash flow models available through The Yield Book fixed income analytical system. The two companies intend to make this functionality available by the end of 2001. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The Yield Book's customers -- who represent the majority of leading fixed income portfolio managers -- will soon have access to pool-level analytics and information related to more than 450 CMBS deals from the Conquest library. With these Conquest capabilities integrated into The Yield Book, investors will be able to implement The Yield Book's analytics to evaluate CMBS securities within their overall fixed income portfolios, as well as have access to summary data about the underlying CMBS pool. Additionally, under development for early 2002 is functionality that will give mutual customers of Conquest and The Yield Book the ability to run more complex loan level scenarios.

Standard & Poor's Conquest is an analytic software tool that provides highly-valued Credit-Driven Analysis to the CMBS market, facilitating bond pricing and risk analysis using customer-specified scenarios to support optimal investment decisions.

"This agreement will further enhance the services that Standard & Poor's Conquest delivers to the commercial real estate community and the fixed income market. It also demonstrates Standard & Poor's ability to provide innovative analytic software solutions that support the risk management needs of fixed income portfolio managers," said Kathy Rainey, managing director of Standard & Poor's.

"We are excited to provide The Yield Book customer base with access to the comprehensive CMBS bond-level data available in Standard & Poor's Conquest. This new relationship further enhances The Yield Book's extensive coverage of the fixed income markets," said Steve Mandel, managing director of Salomon Analytics.

Developed by Salomon Analytics, The Yield Book is a powerful and versatile fixed income analytics system designed to meet the demands of a wide range of users including traders, sales people, portfolio managers, risk managers, researchers, analysts, and other investment professionals worldwide.

Salomon Analytics Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney unit, is a leading provider of fixed income analytics software to institutional portfolio managers. More information can be found at www.yieldbook.com.

Citigroup, the preeminent global financial services company, provides some 120 million consumers, corporations, governments and institutions in more than 100 countries with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage, and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark umbrella are Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Salomon Smith Barney, and Travelers. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.

Standard & Poor's is a leader in providing highly valued financial data, analytical research, and investment and credit opinions to the global capital markets. Among the company's many products are the S&P Global 1200, the first real-time, global equity index; the S&P 500, the premier U.S. portfolio index; and credit ratings on more than 220,000 securities and funds worldwide. With more than 5,000 employees located in 18 countries, Standard & Poor's is an integral part of the world's financial architecture. Additional information is available at both www.standardandpoors.com and www.cmbs.com.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education, and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, Business Week, and McGraw-Hill Education. The corporation has more than 300 offices in 33 countries. Sales in 2000 were $4.3 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

Contact Standard & Poor's, Boston, Kathy Rainey, 617-695-2233 x204.