At its Regular Meeting on Wednesday, December 12, 2001, the Board of Directors approved a proposal to expand electronic trading of Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) futures to include side-by-side trading with open outcry during regular trading hours (RTH). At the same time, the Board approved block trading for GSCI futures.

• Side-by-side trading and block trading of GSCI futures will begin Tuesday, February 19, 2002. GSCI options may be considered at a later date.

• Floor trading hours will be unchanged (8:15 AM to 2:15 PM). GLOBEX^� trading hours will be 2:45 PM (5:30 PM on Sunday for the start of the Monday session) until 2:15 PM the following day. The open outcry and electronic sessions will close at the same time, and the settlement price of the open outcry session will be used to settle both markets.

• All contract specifications will be the same for both open outcry and electronic trading. The error trade tick range ("no bust range") for electronic trading will remain at 1.50 index points. In addition, the 30 index point daily price limit that currently applies only to ETH will be extended to apply equally to both open outcry and electronic trading.

• GSCI is assigned to the GEM Division, so all classes of shareholders are eligible to trade for their own account as well as broker trades for customers. GLOBEX system fees, customer fees and applicable clearing fees will be charged according to the rates currently established for index products. Because it is a GEM product, "out of division" rates on fees do not apply.

• Block trading will require a minimum of 50 contracts for outright positions and 300 contracts per side for spreads.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Brett Vietmeier, Associate Director, Equity Products, at (312) 930-3394 or Mr. Paul Peterson, Director, Commodity Product Development, at (312) 930-4587.