London, 13 March 2003 - Rolfe & Nolan announced today that the first module of Merlin, Rolfe & Nolan`s `next generation` processing solution has completed UAT and been formally accepted by its investment bank development sponsors.

Phil Reed, chief technology officer at Rolfe & Nolan commented: "We are on a ground breaking route with Merlin with leading edge technology, coupled with new development and governance methodologies. This has required a supreme effort from the Merlin teams at Rolfe & Nolan and our sponsor banks. The completion of UAT is an essential hurdle prior to Merlin Commissions going live in the very near future."

Paul Cleaver, chief information officer, Global Exchange Services at Deutsche Bank said: "After an objective and rigorous three month testing period, Deutsche Bank is very pleased to formally accept the first deliverable of our joint initiative with Rolfe & Nolan and plan to go live with it soon. We look forward to harnessing the benefits that will flow from Merlin."

"We have had a hectic and productive time recently at Rolfe & Nolan," said Bob Freeman, chief executive officer at Rolfe & Nolan. "First the MBO, then the successful release of Merlin Commissions from UAT. It is very satisfying to see these vital initiatives bear fruit. I would also like to acknowledge the professionalism and thoroughness of our sponsors, whose commitment has been crucial in successfully reaching this decisive point."

The versatile Merlin Commissions module facilitates use of a wide range of commonly used commission methods. Commission methods are not hard-coded, so users can devise new ones using the module`s built-in functions. The module provides a flexible framework in which combinations of commission methods and associated rates are applied to each calculation request. It also has published inbound and outbound interfaces, which enables its calculation engine to be readily used by other systems.

Key Merlin features include modular design, a single database, depth in listed derivatives functionality, cross-asset extendibility, 24 X 7 real-time availability, exception-based processing and standards-based architecture. Merlin is available on a range of mainstream hardware platforms and supports the leading application server software in the market. The culmination of a design process involving leading industry firms, state-of-the-art techniques and Rolfe & Nolan`s deep experience, Merlin modules may be integrated to form a complete system or interfaced with other third party components.