Cpmarket.com was launched in June, 2000, and facilitates real-time transactions between commercial paper issuers and investors via an Internet portal.

"The platform's wide appeal to both investors and issuers of commercial paper is one of the factors that convinced us to use cpmarket.com," says John Stacconi, senior managing director at Bear Stearns. "The large investor base that cpmarket.com attracts should translate into a broader distribution channel for us. We are looking forward to taking advantage of this to lower our funding costs."