Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc. Selects StarMine To Objectively Measure Research Analyst Performance

Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc. announced today that it has adopted StarMine Monitor as a tool to assist in the internal evaluation of research analyst performance. StarMine, the leading provider of objective ratings of Wall Street securities analysts, measures the accuracy of analysts' earnings estimates and the returns of their buy/sell/hold recommendations. Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc. uses StarMine Monitor, a Web-based service, to assist in the tracking of analyst performance with an eye towards utilizing the results as a component of analyst compensation.

"Our adoption of StarMine is another demonstration to our clients of our commitment to high quality, unbiased research. Using an objective third-party service helps us continuously monitor our quality and compare our results regularly to our competition," said Charles J. Brady, Director of U.S. Equity Research at Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc.

StarMine's "Value Add" measure evaluates an analyst's stock-picking performance and makes it possible to compare stock recommendation performances across disparate industries. Value Add compares the performance of an analyst's stock recommendations to a benchmark portfolio constructed from all of the stocks in the analyst's coverage universe. Out of the over 3000 equity analysts that StarMine tracks in the United States, Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc. analyst Bryan Maher ranked second in overall Value Add for his coverage of lodging and real estate stocks. Brady added, "Sixty-three percent of our analysts had positive Value Add for their stock recommendations in 2001, compared to 48 percent for the average qualifying firm."

"We are not just a publication house--adding value for our investors is the key to our top-quality research," Brady states, and "Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc. is a place where analysts clearly identify catalysts for change and add value through straightforward analysis and advice."

Joe Gatto, founder and CEO of StarMine, said, "In these times of heightened scrutiny of Wall Street analysts, there is strong momentum for regulations which will increase transparency of brokerage firms' rating systems and of analyst past performance. Credit Lyonnais' adoption of StarMine demonstrates its leadership and proactive commitment to such objective measurement of results."

About StarMine

StarMine (www.StarMine.com) provides independent, objective ratings of Wall Street securities analysts by measuring them on their stock-picking performance and the accuracy of their earnings forecasts. StarMine provides institutional investors with a wealth of analyst-based research, including SmartEstimates(SM)--better earnings forecasts than the Wall Street consensus--which are derived by putting more weight on the most accurate analysts. StarMine's success rate at predicting earnings surprises approaches 75 percent. StarMine is a licensed redistributor of Thomson Financial I/B/E/S and First Call data. A privately held company founded in 1998, StarMine is based in San Francisco with offices in New York, London, Boston, and Denver.

About Credit Lyonnais and Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc.

Credit Lyonnais is a full-service worldwide financial institution with representation in about 60 countries, 4,600 offices worldwide and more than 40,000 professionals serving clients in every corner of the globe with a broad range of services and products. Established in 1863, Credit Lyonnais has over $177 billion in assets today.

Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) Inc. is able to provide global equity products for institutional clients large and small. Its engagement in origination, management, marketing and distribution of domestic and international equities, coupled with its broad range of services enables Credit Lyonnais Securities to meet the needs of large global institutions, investors and corporations.

Trademarks: StarMine is a registered trademark of StarMine Corporation. SmartEstimates is a worldwide service mark of StarMine Corporation.