NOS increases clearing capital by US$ 40 million

Under the new agreement the guarantee will pay NOS up to US$80 million for losses resulting from clearing member defaults above a threshold of US$ 65 million.

The cooperation with Radian further strengthens NOS against member defaults under extreme market conditions and further signals to its members, stakeholders and regulators that the company will continue to strengthen its financial soundness and protect its role as the world’s only specialist clearer of maritime commodity derivatives. At the same time the strengthened guarantee structure will secure business continuity by further protecting NOS owners` capital from member defaults. This allows for a competitive clearing model without the burden to the members of financing a mutual clearing fund while also allowing NOS to meet expected growth in existing and new markets.

As part of a restructuring of its clearing capital, NOS is replacing the member guarantee issued by DnB NOR of NOK 250 million with a portion (US$ 40 million) of the Radian guarantee. This replacement will be in effect from 1st September 2007, when the 12 months guarantee termination period expires.

Facilitator for the new policy has been by the Norwegian office of Marsh, the world’s leading risk and insurance services firm. “Within Marsh we have a Financial Markets & Payment Systems Practice (FMAPP) that is designed to address the particular needs of our clients engaged in the exchange, clearing and settlement business. We are very pleased to have assisted NOS in the placement of this new credit facility, which will provide a solid platform for their continued expansion in this exciting sector of the market” says Richard Green and Bjørn A. Kløvstad, Senior Vice Presidents, FMAPP.

As of 1st September 2006, the total clearing capital available to clearing members totals US$ 155 million comprised of NOS own capital of approx. US$ 35 million, US$ 40 million in member default insurance provided by Swiss Re, Radian’s Financial Guarantee of US$40 million and DnBNOR’s member guarantee of NOK 250 million to be replaced by a US$40 million portion of Radian’s guarantee.

“We are proud and pleased to be able to support NOS Clearing ASA with our clearing default soft capital facility. NOS’ leading position in the global freight derivatives industry fits well with Radian’s role as the leading provider of clearinghouse soft capital solutions”, says Timothy Comiskey, Vice President Financial Solutions Group at Radian Asset Insurance Inc.

The guarantee has a duration of 26 months from 1st September, and it covers all NOS’ clearing members in all markets cleared by NOS. Both Radian and NOS view this policy as the first step of a long-term cooperation. Both parties are willing to increase the size of the guarantee if and when required based on the market size and risk exposure of NOS.

“Active development of clearing services for new markets is an important part of NOS’ strategy. Our flexible technology and experienced staff enables NOS to open new clearing markets with short time to market. Together with Radian, we have further developed our solid, flexible and competitive financial structure suited to back our strategy”, says Morten Erichsen, CEO NOS Clearing ASA.

For further information, please contact:

NOS:

• Erik Flingtorp, +47 23956304, +47 95941794
• Morten Erichsen, +47 23259305, +47 90736398

Radian:

• Tim Comiskey, Radian, +1 212 984-9294

Marsh:

• Bjørn A. Kløvstad, +47 22011119, +47 93487019
• Richard Green, + 44 207 357 3549

NOS Clearing ASA (NOS) was established in 1987 and is a subsidiary of Imarex NOS ASA, a publicly traded shareholding company listed at Oslo Stock Exchange. Imarex NOS ASA is a company offering trading and clearing services to several commodity derivatives markets. NOS Clearing ASA is licensed as a clearing and settlement institution for financial instruments by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. The company has also been approved by USA’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for clearing of OTC transactions. NOS offer multi market and multi product clearing services to principals, their intermediaries, exchanges and the OTC markets where commodity derivatives are traded. The main purpose is to reduce the clearing members’ credit risk, and through this stimulate liquidity and safe trading. The NOS web site address is www.nos.no. The Imarex NOS web site address is www.imarex.com.

Radian Asset Assurance Inc. is a AA rated (AA/Aa3/AA from S&P/Moody’s/Fitch) subsidiary of Radian Group, situated in USA and listed at NYSE, with a market cap of close to USD 5 billion as of 12/31/05. Radian Asset Insurance Inc provides Structured Finance services, included financial guarantees to clearinghouses. Over 10 years Radian has become the world’s leading provider of clearinghouse soft capital solutions in North America, Europe and Asia.

Marsh, the world’s leading risk and insurance firm, has nearly 30.000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $5 billion The firm provides advice and transaction capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Marsh is a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm with more than 60.000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $12 billion. MMC is also the parent company of Guy Carpenter, Kroll, Putnam Investments and Mercer. MMC’s stock (ticker symbol MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago, Pacific, and london stock exchanges. MMC’s web site address is www.mmc.com. Marsh’s web site address is www.marsh.co.uk.