Banc of America Securities Increases Investment in MarketAxess; Kelligrew Named to Board

Business Wire, April 11, 2002

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2002

Banc of America Securities LLC, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is increasing its investment in MarketAxess, the leading Internet-based, multi-dealer trading platform for credit products, both companies announced today.

In addition, Jim Kelligrew, managing director and head of Global High Grade Fixed Income at Banc of America Securities, will join MarketAxess' board of directors. In his role at Banc of America Securities, Kelligrew manages syndicate, sales, trading and research efforts for High Grade Fixed Income. He serves on the boards of Banc of America Securities Japan and InCapital.

"Banc of America Securities is a market leader in providing solutions to investor and corporate clients in the credit arena," said Kelligrew. "As such, we have chosen to align ourselves with the leading electronic trading platform for credit products. Our clients are demanding greater efficiencies in content delivery, price discovery and trade execution. MarketAxess delivers these efficiencies, and we believe the platform will become an increasingly critical trading channel for the credit markets."

Support Validates Platform

By significantly increasing its stake in MarketAxess, Banc of America Securities provides further validation of the MarketAxess business model and its essential role in the future of bond trading.

"In addition to their proven strength in the credit markets, Banc of America Securities has also demonstrated leadership in e-trading through its performance on the MarketAxess platform," said Rick McVey, chief executive officer of MarketAxess. "We are delighted that Banc of America has decided to make a capital and strategic business commitment commensurate with our other dealer board members and we look forward to having the benefit of Jim Kelligrew's experience on our board.

"In an environment where funding is scarce, Banc of America Securities' decision to increase their investment and involvement with the firm makes a strong statement on the future of MarketAxess and electronic bond trading," added McVey.

Banc of America Securities is a leading dealer in U.S. corporate bonds, ranking fourth in investment grade and third in high yield bond underwriting year to date. The company joined MarketAxess as a dealer partner in February 2001. Since that time, the MarketAxess dealer group has grown to include twelve of the world's top fixed income dealers.

Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

About Banc of America Securities

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is one of the world's leading financial services companies. Through offices in 32 countries, the company's Global Corporate and Investment Banking group (http://corp.bankofamerica.com) provides investment banking, trade finance, treasury management, capital markets, leasing, and financial advisory services to domestic and international corporations, financial institutions and government entities. Many of the bank's services to corporate and institutional clients are provided through Banc of America Securities LLC, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation.

MarketAxess

MarketAxess (www.marketaxess.com) is an Internet-based, multi-dealer platform for fully disclosed counter party or anonymous credit product trading. MarketAxess connects institutional investors and dealers, offering investors access to a large pool of liquidity across a comprehensive range of securities, including high grade corporates, Eurobonds, FRNs, emerging markets, high yield and convertible bonds. The platform delivers a comprehensive service offering for the credit markets by aggregating dealer inventory, new issue securities and research, providing price competitiveness and seamless trade execution.

Current MarketAxess participating dealers include: ABN Amro, Banc of America Securities, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank Securities, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS Warburg.