MARCH 11, 2003 (TORONTO) – Today, CanDeal.ca, Inc. has added Canada Mortgage Bonds (CMBs) to its electronic fixed income trading platform. CMBs are issued by the Canada Housing Trust, a special purpose trust created to issue the bonds. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) acts as the Financial Services Advisor to the Trust. The bonds are guaranteed by the Government of Canada through CMHC. The aggregate par value of the four issues outstanding is $17.9 billion.  Using the CanDeal system, institutional investors can see real-time bid and ask prices for each CMB issue, sourced from Canada’s six major investment dealers, and then trade them on-line in the secondary market using CanDeal’s Request for Quote (RFQ) trading protocol.

“CanDeal offers improved visibility and transparency - the ability for investors to see where the Canadian market is currently valuing these securities and a venue to trade them efficiently,” said Trevor Gloyn, Treasurer with CMHC. The CMBs are intermingled on price displays with Government of Canada bonds and are traded on a price basis, rather than on a traditional basis point spread relative to a benchmark security. “This format reflects the sovereign credit and liquidity of these securities.” added Mr. Gloyn.

Canada Housing Trust CMBs are attractive to investors because they are comparable to Government of Canada bond in terms of credit quality and liquidity.  They may also provide the opportunity for an incremental benefit in yield.

"CanDeal establishes a fair, open, and transparent marketplace that delivers operational efficiencies and mitigates risk in the Canadian debt securities markets," said Jayson Horner, CanDeal's President and CEO.  "The addition of Canada Mortgage Bonds comes in response to our clients’ requests for CanDeal to offer the same standards of transparency and trade execution in a broader range of securities.  It is another testament to the growth and success of our system. CanDeal provides our clients with continuous access to the most complete view of where the market is being valued by Canada’s six largest and most active investment dealers.  As well, our clients have direct online access to the deep liquidity that our dealers provide.”

About CanDeal.ca, Inc.
CanDeal.ca, Inc. is a registered Alternative Trading System that provides Canadian institutional clients with the ability to view and trade debt securities on-line. The CanDeal system offers transparency and liquidity in a fair and open electronic marketplace.  CanDeal enables buy-side participants to realize efficiencies and reduce risks through its unique 'real-time best price' consolidated market views, simultaneous multi-dealer request-for-quote electronic trade order routing and execution capability, and post-trade services. CanDeal, located in Toronto, is owned by six major Canadian investment dealers, Canada's premier stock exchange, a global real-time information and transaction service provider and a global technology solutions provider.