BNP Paribas CIB Launches New Index to Track Performance of USD-Denominated Covered Bonds

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Aug 4, 2011) - BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking announces the launch of its first index on AAA-rated, USD-denominated Covered Bonds from issuers globally. The BNP Paribas Covered Bonds Index is a market-cap weighted index of all covered bonds which are USD-denominated and AAA-rated. The index is rebalanced monthly to incorporate new issues and to remove those no longer eligible.

"While Euro-denominated covered bonds are a well-established financing and investment instrument in Europe, a growing number of non-US issuers have now issued US Dollar-denominated covered bonds," said Kip Testwuide, Head of Fixed Income Origination and Distribution, Americas. "The US investor base is growing even before legislation governing covered bonds by US issuers is finalized."

The US Covered Bond market has grown rapidly over the past few years, increasing from under $10 billion of outstanding notional in 2010 to over $44 billion today. BNP Paribas was the top global underwriter of Covered Bonds for the first half of 2011 and received several awards for its innovative work in covered bonds in 2010.

The BNP Paribas Covered Bond Index was developed in response to demand from clients who wanted a tool to track this emerging asset class and compare its returns to other investment options. This index can also be used to manage portfolios using instruments such as total return swaps.

The index is available on Bloomberg under BNIXCOV Index < go > .

BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking
BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking employs around 20,000 people in over 50 countries and services 14,000 corporate and institutional clients worldwide.

BNP Paribas CIB excels in:
Derivatives - where it is one of the leading global players in rates, credit, forex, commodity and equity derivatives
Capital markets - where it is one of the top European houses in both ECM and DCM (bond, securitization, convertibles and equity issuance)
Structured finance - where it is amongst the leaders in acquisition, export, project, energy and commodity finance globally
www.cib.bnpparibas.com

About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the strongest banks in the world*. The Group has a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 employees, including more than 160,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across the Europe-Mediterranean zone and boasts a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.

*Rated AA by Standard & Poor's i.e. 3rd rating level on a scale of 22.