Merrill Lynch sweeps the board in this year's reuters/tempest global emerging markets survey

MERRILL LYNCH SWEEPS THE BOARD IN THIS YEAR'S REUTERS/TEMPEST GLOBAL EMERGING MARKETS SURVEY Merrill Lynch wins four out of five global awards including Best Broker, Best Investment Bank, Best Broker Research Product & Service, and Best Broker Execution. London, 29 November, 2000 - Merrill Lynch today swept the board in the annual Reuters/Tempest Global Emerging Markets Survey. The firm was awarded four out of five key global awards, and in all won 12 of the survey's 20 main categories. "We are absolutely thrilled to have achieved such exceptional results in this year's Reuters/Tempest survey," said Paul Raphaël, country manager for Central and South East Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. "These awards underline Merrill Lynch's continued commitment to emerging markets by providing our clients with some of the highest quality research and levels of service across all aspects of our business.' The 20 awards were: Best Broker Research Product & Service according to Fund management Groups Global Emerging Markets Merrill Lynch Asia Merrill Lynch EMEA UBS Warburg LATAM Merrill Lynch Best Broker according to Corporations Global Emerging Markets Merrill Lynch Asia Goldman Sachs EMEA Merrill Lynch LATAM Merrill Lynch -MORE- 2-GlobalEmergingMarkets Best Investment Bank according to Corporations Global Emerging Markets Merrill Lynch Asia Goldman Sachs EMEA Merrill Lynch LATAM JP Morgan Best Broker Execution according to Buy-Side Trading Desks Global Emerging Markets Merrill Lynch Asia Merrill Lynch EMEA Merrill Lynch LATAM Merrill Lynch Best Fund Management Group according to Corporations Global Emerging Markets Fidelity Investments Asia Fidelity Investments EMEA Capital Group LATAM Fidelity Investments Notes to Editors 1. Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 44 countries and total client assets of about $1.8 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter and market maker of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets. For more information on Merrill Lynch, go to www.ml.com. 2. Merrill Lynch is the top-rated financial research firm in the world, with over 800 analysts in 26 countries covering the performance of more than 3,700 companies worldwide. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Merrill Lynch has more than 200 analysts covering over 1,500 companies. * * * ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/11/30/20001130BIT00610/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/11/30/20001130BIT00610/bit0002.pdf