Barclays and Ameriprise Financial Top List of Winners at 13th FCS Annual Portfolio Awards

Business Wire, May 18, 2007

* Financial Communications Society Recognizes 39 Companies for Excellence in Financial Services Advertising & Collateral

NEW YORK -- At the 13th FCS Annual Portfolio Awards, the Financial Communications Society (FCS) recognized a broad range of financial services providers for excellence in their advertising and collateral. Barclays, with 12 trophies, won four Gold awards, including Best In Show in the Business-to-Business category for its "Quietly Recruiting" television spot, created by Venables Bell & Partners. Ameriprise Financial won 10 trophies, including 3 Gold awards. Best In Show in the Consumer Retail category was awarded to Fidelity, who won a total of eight trophies, for its "myPlan Easy" television spot, created by Arnold. American Express, taking home six trophies, won Corporate Image Best In Show for its "Animals" television spot, featuring Ellen DeGeneres and created by Ogilvy & Mather, New York. Wachovia Securities won the Interactive Best in Show with its online "Retirement Guide" ad, created by IQ Interactive. A Multicultural Best In Show was presented for the first-time at the FCS Portfolio Awards, and it was won by Citi, which received a total of six trophies.

This year's Awards competition included more than 300 entries and was expanded to include web sites for the first time. Winning entries were received from 39 financial services providers, including investment firms, credit card companies, investment banks, brokerages, mutual funds, insurance companies, accounting firms, and commercial banks.

The awards were presented at a gala dinner on May 17th in the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios in New York City. A sell-out crowd of professionals from the financial services, media, advertising and marketing industries attended the event, which was sponsored by Conde Nast Portfolio, Forbes, BusinessWeek, The New Yorker, The Economist and CNBC.

For a full list of award winners, please visit www.fcsinteractive.com.

About The Financial Communications Society (FCS)

The Financial Communications Society (FCS), a not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to improving professional standards in financial communications. It provides professionals in the industry with a forum for gathering relevant information, sharing ideas and building relationships with industry colleagues. The FCS hosts the annual Portfolio Awards, for creative excellence in financial services advertising, a monthly luncheon series featuring prominent industry speakers, and numerous educational events. Among the annual charity-focused activities organized by the FCS are Race for Kids (www.fcsraceforkids.org) and, in conjunction with Junior Achievement, Job Shadow Day.

For more information on the FCS, please visit: www.fcsinteractive.com or send an email to info@fcsinteractive.com.