CSFBdirect to Provide Self-Directed Brokerage Services to Transamerica Retirement Services Employee Benefit Plans

Business Wire, March 22, 2001

Business Editors

JERSEY CITY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2001

Small to Mid-Size Plan Sponsors Offer Employees Self-Directed

Brokerage Option with Expanded Investment Choices

CSFBdirect (NYSE: DIR), the online brokerage service of Credit Suisse First Boston, today announced an agreement to provide brokerage services to participants in employee benefit plans administered by top-ten pension provider(a) Transamerica Retirement Services.

Under the terms of the agreement, CSFBdirect will provide self-directed brokerage services to Transamerica Retirement Services' participant-directed retirement plans.

Transamerica Retirement Services' employee benefit plan clients who choose the self-directed brokerage option will have access to a range of investment products and services offered by CSFBdirect. This package includes trading in stocks, mutual funds, IPOs (for qualified investors), online and wireless account access, and real-time quotes and news.

"The advantages of self-directed brokerage service - usually an option only for large businesses - will now be available for small and mid-size plan-sponsor companies through our new Transamerica Plan Plus(sm) program," said Diana Geraci, Vice President of Transamerica Retirement Services. "We are excited to provide plan sponsors the opportunity to offer their employees expanded investment choices in a range of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; valuable investment flexibility; and greater control over their retirement investing through this new option."

"We are pleased to work with Transamerica Retirement Services to offer the self-directed brokerage option to their clients," said Blake Darcy, Chief Executive Officer of CSFBdirect. "The combined resources of Transamerica Retirement Services and CSFBdirect will provide retirement plan participants access to an extensive package of products and services in planning for their retirement."

About Transamerica Retirement Services

Transamerica Retirement Services, provides comprehensive 401(k) and profit-sharing plans designed to help small-and-medium-sized businesses establish effective retirement benefits programs. Transamerica Retirement Services has more than 7,850 plans with approximately 400,000 participants as of December 31, 2000.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Transamerica Retirement Services offers state-of-the-industry services and service guarantees and has an award-winning interactive Web site, including investment education, retirement planning tools and account services. Transamerica Retirement Services' retirement planning products and services are offered through Transamerica Life Insurance and Annuity Company, Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company, and AUSA Life Insurance Company, Inc., members of the AEGON Insurance Group, one of the world's largest life insurance, pension, and financial services organizations.

Information on Transamerica Retirement Services and Transamerica Plan Plus(sm) is available toll-free at (888) 401-5826 or visitors may access information in the plan sponsor section of their Web site at www.TA-Retirement.com.

About CSFBdirect

CSFBdirect is one of the world's premier online brokerage firms offering a diversified range of investment products and services to sophisticated, self-directed investors. As of December 31, 2000, CSFBdirect had over one million worldwide customer accounts representing nearly $23 billion in assets.

CSFBdirect has received numerous honors over the past year, including a number one "4-Stars" rating in March 2001 by Barron's; "Best of the Web" in March 2001 by Forbes.com; "Best Online Brokerage Service" in March 2001 by the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA); number one for "Transaction Performance and Transaction Success Rate" in February 2001 by Keynote Systems, Inc.; "Best for Site Reliability" in August 2000 by TheStreet.com's Online Broker Survey; "Top Online Broker" by the 2000 Readers' Choice Awards, Worth magazine; and "Best Bet, Feature Rich" in May 2000 by PC World magazine.

Headquartered in Jersey City, NJ with offices in New York City, Charlotte, NC, Delray Beach, FL, Sandy City, UT, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Dubai, CSFBdirect employs more than 1,650 people. CSFBdirect trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "DIR" as a tracking stock of Credit Suisse First Boston (USA), Inc. For more information on CSFBdirect, visit the company's Web site at www.CSFBdirect.com.

About Credit Suisse First Boston

Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) is a leading global investment banking firm serving institutional, corporate, government and individual clients. CSFB's businesses include securities underwriting, sales and trading, investment and merchant banking, financial advisory services, investment research, venture capital, correspondent brokerage services and online brokerage services. It operates in over 76 locations across more than 37 countries and 6 continents, and has some 28,000 staff worldwide. The Firm is a business unit of the Zurich based Credit Suisse Group, a leading global financial services company.