Pittsburgh, PA (December 4, 2003) The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) today announced an alliance with Grant Street Group, a fixed income Internet auction house, to create GFOA YieldAdvantage , a real-time electronic marketplace for governments to invest their cash holdings.

Pittsburgh, PA (December 4, 2003) The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) today announced an alliance with Grant Street Group, a fixed income Internet auction house, to create GFOA YieldAdvantage , a real-time electronic marketplace for governments to invest their cash holdings.

Historically, governments have sought several quotes from local banks before investing their cash. This is done via fax or over the telephone, and often consumes a significant portion of a treasury manager's day. GFOA YieldAdvantage revolutionizes this process by creating a marketplace in which banks compete for a government's investment business. Competition optimizes the yields that governments earn on their short-term cash investments. In addition, the functionality built into the site expedites the investment process.

In a typical open bid auction, a government specifies the quantity and type of investment instruments it wants to buy, and then opens up the auction. Banks bid against each other until the auction closes, at which point the government awards the funds to the bidder that best suits its needs, usually the highest bidder. During the auction, banks can view their rank, but not the best bid. In a sealed bid auction, bidders receive no feedback and hence submit just their best bids.

In a sealed bid auction, GFOA YieldAdvantage allows governments to solicit bids for multiple investment instruments. It can be used to invest in collateralized or non-collateralized certificates of deposit, commercial paper, treasury and agency securities, and repurchase agreements. This flexibility allows governments to diversify their short-term investments, and the platform automatically compares returns across the various instruments, which further streamlines the cash investment process.

"Investment officers are always on the lookout for opportunities to improve yield and make the investment process more efficient, all the while ensuring that their portfolios are safe," said GFOA Executive Director Jeffrey L. Esser "GFOA YieldAdvantage is one way that governments can meet these goals."

The auctions will be powered by Grant Street Group, whose base product, YieldAuction, is currently being used by a number of jurisdictions, including Monroe County, NY; Sioux County and Story County, IA; and St. Johns County Tax Collectors Office, FL.

"This service is an indispensable tool in today's challenging cash management environment," said Gerald Mecca, chief financial officer of Monroe County, NY "I wouldn't want to go to work without it." GFOA YieldAdvantage features the same functionality as YieldAuction.

About the Government Finance Officers Association

GFOA is the leading professional association for those interested in government finance. GFOA's membership consists of more than 15,500 local, state, and provincial government finance officers and others responsible for financial policy decisions in governmental entities, public employee retirement systems, and various special districts. The association is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and has offices in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit GFOA's Web site a www.gfoa.org.

Pittsburgh, PA (October 9, 2003) Wachovia Corporate Trust, part of Wachovia Corporate and Institutional Trust, announced today the launch of Wachovia Auction Direct.

Pittsburgh, PA (October 9, 2003) Wachovia Corporate Trust, part of Wachovia Corporate and Institutional Trust, announced today the launch of Wachovia Auction Direct. The new system provides full-service auction agent capabilities for issuers and broker-dealers by allowing accurate and efficient online bidding of auction rate securities.

"Enhancing our auction agent services demonstrates our commitment to investing in our corporate trust business and providing the latest technology to our clients. By offering auction agent services to clients, we make it easier for them to depend on us for all their trust needs," said Linda Delaney, managing director of Corporate Trust for Wachovia.

Wachovia's auction agent services include:

• Customized reporting
• Floor and ceiling rate determination
• Ability for broker-dealers to place online bids
• Completion of the auction process
• Determination of the winning bid rate
• Reporting of results to issuer and participating broker-dealers
• Acting as a liaison among trustees, issuers, broker-dealers and security depositories

Wachovia also can serve as trustee, paying agent and transfer agent and has a centralized, dedicated team of auction agent specialists based in New York City who can provide accurate reports and respond to inquiries with speed and confidentiality. Wachovia Auction Direct, powered by Grant Street Group, also offers auction calendars, daily summaries, CUSIP summaries and real-time auction results.

Wachovia Corporate and Institutional Trust offers retirement services, custodial services and investment management, conventional and structured finance trust solutions, equity services, information management and claims processing, and Investment Holding Company (IHC) services to institutional clients worldwide. Based in Charlotte, N.C., Wachovia Corporate and Institutional Trust has 37 locations in 17 states plus the District of Columbia.

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) is one of the largest providers of financial services to retail, brokerage and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation, with assets of $364 billion and stockholders' equity of $32 billion at June 30, 2003. Its four core businesses, the General Bank, Capital Management, Wealth Management and the Corporate and Investment Bank, serve 9 million households, including 900,000 businesses, primarily in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C. Its broker-dealer, currently operating under the names Wachovia Securities, LLC, and Prudential Securities Division of Wachovia Securities, LLC, serves clients through 700 offices in 48 states. Global services are provided through more than 30 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services also are available through wachovia.com.

Pittsburgh, PA (August 25, 2003) Grant Street Group, the Pittsburgh based Internet auction house for fixed-income securities, recently used its money market investment platform, YieldAuction, to solicit a $500,000, 366-day CD for Story County, Iowa.

Pittsburgh, PA (August 25, 2003) Grant Street Group, the Pittsburgh based Internet auction house for fixed-income securities, recently used its money market investment platform, YieldAuction, to solicit a $500,000, 366-day CD for Story County, Iowa. Traditionally, government entities and school districts solicit bids from banks via phone. Using the YieldAuction web site, state and local governments are able to solicit bids easily and efficiently from a larger number of banks via the Internet and to conduct an on-line auction in which these banks bid against each other for the deposit. The state or local government gets the benefit of a higher investment rate from the combination of increased competition and the auction format. Solicitation amounts range from $100,000 (or less in some instances) to millions of dollars. In the Story County auction, 4 banks from Iowa submitted 20 bids during the 30 minute auction.

Pittsburgh, PA (April 11, 2003) Grant Street Group, the Pittsburgh-based Internet auction house for fixed-income securities, recently used its money market investment platform, YieldAuction, to solicit a $1,000,000, 182-day CD for Washington County, Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh, PA (April 11, 2003) Grant Street Group, the Pittsburgh-based Internet auction house for fixed-income securities, recently used its money market investment platform, YieldAuction, to solicit a $1,000,000, 182-day CD for Washington County, Pennsylvania. Traditionally, government entities and school districts solicit bids from banks via phone. Using the YieldAuction web site, state and local governments are able to solicit bids easily and efficiently from a larger number of banks via the Internet and to conduct an on-line auction in which these banks bid against each other for the deposit. The state or local government gets the benefit of a higher investment rate from the combination of increased competition and the auction format. Solicitation amounts range from $100,000 (or less in some instances) to millions of dollars. In the Washington County auction, five banks from Pennsylvania submitted 7 bids during the 30 minute auction.

Pittsburgh, PA (March 27, 2003) Grant Street Group, the Pittsburgh-based Internet auction house for fixed-income securities, recently used its money market investment platform, YieldAuction, to solicit a $1,000,000, 90-day CD for St. Johns County Tax Collector, Florida.

Pittsburgh, PA (March 27, 2003) Grant Street Group, the Pittsburgh-based Internet auction house for fixed-income securities, recently used its money market investment platform, YieldAuction, to solicit a $1,000,000, 90-day CD for St. Johns County Tax Collector, Florida. Traditionally, government entities and school districts solicit bids from banks via phone. Using the YieldAuction web site, state and local governments are able to solicit bids easily and efficiently from a larger number of banks via the Internet and to conduct an on-line auction in which these banks bid against each other for the deposit. The state or local government gets the benefit of a higher investment rate from the combination of increased competition and the auction format. Solicitation amounts range from $100,000 (or less in some instances) to millions of dollars. In the St. Johns County Tax Collector auction, three banks from Florida submitted 15 bids during the 60 minute auction.