The Bank of New York to provide continuous linked settlement services to National Bank of Abu Dhabi

CLS is a banking industry initiative designed to reduce risk, increase trading opportunities and reduce costly reconciliation from the settlement of foreign exchange trades.

The arrangement will promote the integration and optimization of National Bank of Abu Dhabi's treasury, trading, cash management and reporting functions with The Bank of New York's settlement operation. The Bank of New York also agrees not to offer Third Party or Fourth Party CLS services to any other client that maintains a Head Office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

NBAD has the strongest credit ratings among Middle East commercial banks, assigned A and A-1 for long and short-term respectively by Standard & Poor's.

Qamber Ali Al Mulla, Assistant General Manager and Head of International Banking of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said, "We selected The Bank of New York as our CLS partner because of its ability to provide us with a tailored foreign exchange settlements solution that will enable us to better serve our needs and the needs of our clients in the local market."

William F. Williams, Managing Director and Head of The Bank of New York's Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa Division, said, "We provide value to our clients by working with them to create flexible solutions that meet their specific requirements and those of their clients. National Bank of Abu Dhabi will be able to leverage our extensive network and product expertise to transact foreign exchange with reduced settlement risk around the world."

Founded in 1968, National Bank of Abu Dhabi is the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with total assets of US$15.3 billion as of December 31, 2004. With about 2,000 employees, NBAD has the largest branch and ATM network in the UAE. The bank's activities are divided into three core banking areas: Domestic Banking Division, offering corporate, consumer, private and elite banking services; Investment Banking Division, dealing in money markets, foreign exchange, capital markets, corporate finance, brokerage services, structured finance and asset management; and International Banking Division, which includes an overseas network of 19 branches in Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, Sudan, the United Kingdom and France. National Bank of Abu Dhabi also has a wholly owned subsidiary in the United States.

The Bank of New York Company, Inc. (NYSE: BK) plays an integral role in the infrastructure of the capital markets, servicing securities in more than 100 markets worldwide. The Company provides quality solutions through leading technology for global financial institutions, asset managers, governments, non-profit organizations, corporations, and individuals. Its principal subsidiary, The Bank of New York, founded in 1784, is the oldest bank in the United States and has a distinguished history of serving clients around the world through its five primary businesses: Securities Servicing and Global Payment Services, Private Client Services and Asset Management, Corporate Banking, Global Market Services, and Retail Banking. Additional information on the Company is available at www.bankofny.com.

CLS is a trademark of CLS Group Holding, incorporated as CLS Services Ltd. SafeSettle is a trademark of The Bank of New York.