December 6, 2006

JP Morgan Chase Bank has acknowledged the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) “one of the best” financial institutions among its correspondents, by the quality of payments in US dollars, by presenting the MICEX with its Quality Recognition Award. Each year, JP Morgan Chase Bank selects best financial institutions among its 6000 correspondents across the world.

The award means that the quality of payments, effected by the Exchange, exceeds considerably the average straight through processing rate ensured by the Bank’s correspondents. The Bank’s report shows that in 2005 the MICEX ensured 99.7% of error-free payments, which do not require additional processing. The average value of this indicator among all of JP Morgan Chase Bank’s correspondents is 94%.

JP Morgan Chase Bank’s award confirms the high quality of settlements for the results of trading and the reliability of the Exchange’s system of operational risk management.

The MICEX President Alexander Potemkin has noted that the MICEX has received this award for the fourth consecutive time, which confirms the reputation of the MICEX as one of Russia’s most reliable financial institutions and confirms the high technological level provided by the Exchange in checking the observance of the “payment vs. payment” principle, which is one of the main parts of the risk management system in the MICEX foreign exchange market.

Since 2001, JP Morgan Chase Bank has acted as the MICEX’s bank of settlements in settlements for exchange operations in the US dollar.