"The involvement of BGA and GSAL in the platform signals a strong vote of bottom line approval from a respected, world-leading lender," said Dirk Pruis, President and CEO of EquiLend. "As EquiLend continues to move forward on the paths of innovation and global expansion, we welcome their expertise and thought leadership."

Goldman Sachs entered the agency securities lending business in 1996, with the acquisition of Boston Global Advisors (BGA). EquiLend launched in June 2002 and currently reports $3.5 billion in daily volumes and $2.5 trillion in assets available for borrowing. Participants on the EquiLend platform include Abbey National, Barclays Global Investors, Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Nomura Group, Northern Trust, State Street and UBS.

"We see a powerful value proposition in EquiLend's liquidity, standards-based 'front-to-back' design and cost-efficient access to the top securities lending markets," said Tred McIntire, Head of Goldman Sachs' agency lending business. "EquiLend's performance and features align well with our focus on helping clients create an operating structure based on efficiency, control and strong risk management. We also look forward to facilitating a more efficient operational structure with our borrowers."

BGA and GSAL lend both equity and fixed income securities on a third-party basis on behalf of a client base that consists of large institutions such as mutual funds, public and private pension funds, insurance companies and endowments in the U.S. and Europe.