PRESS RELEASES

NEW YORK, New York - - April 10, 1997 - - The head of Bankers Trust Derivatives Research until 1989, Rich Tanenbaum, whose models helped propel the Bankers Trust Derivatives Products Group from an upstart to the dominant derivatives market maker of the '80s, announced today the release of TOPS for Applix. TOPS, Tanenbaum Option Pricing Software, is a collection of plain vanilla and cutting edge exotic derivatives models that cover the Interest Rate, FX, Equities, and Commodities markets. TOPS for Applix makes available Rich Tanenbaum's sophisticated derivatives models for users of Applix, the Unix spreadsheet.

Features the full analytical power of TOPS

TOPS for Applix provides the same easy to use dialog boxes that have made TOPS so popular among PC users. TOPS dialog boxes simplify the process of valuing complex instruments such as, options with changing strikes, step-up coupon swaptions, and roller coaster swaps. TOPS' exclusive Power Input feature lets users input both parameters that stay constant or parameters that change during the life of the option or swap.

Derivatives long considered "hard to handle", such as those that feature a schedule of exercise dates, par balances that amortize or accrete, or those with coupon rates and strike prices that increase, decrease, or both increase and decrease during its life can all be handled by TOPS. TOPS is capable valuing any combinations of inputs that change over time, including instances when they all change at the same time or exclusive of one another, and instances when the inputs change at accelerated rates or gradually.

Just one core TOPS model is all it takes to handle the many thousands of seemingly complex structures that are possible when a derivative's parameters change over its life. For instance, the TOPS Barrier model can handle barriers with structures as varied as: barriers with changing barriers, "down and out" barriers, down and in, up and out, up and in.

TOPS for Applix is also the only UNIX spreadsheet add-in that lets users value derivatives using a full yield curve, a full volatility curve, and a full forward price curve for any derivative structure. By comparison, competing spreadsheet add-ins let you value derivatives using only constant interest rates, constant volatilities or constant forward prices.

When interpolation is necessary for the yield curve, volatility curve, or forward price curve, a TOPS Interpolator allowing straight-line, log, or cubic spline interpolation methods is available.

TOPS for Applix also utilizes the same proprietary algorithms and enhancements used in the Excel/Lotus spreadsheet versions which results in faster and more accurate derivatives valuations and risk measures.

Provides complete TOPS modularity and flexibility

TOPS Applix users also benefit from TOPS' Context Sensitive Help. As the cursor moves from one TOPS input field into another, the help line changes automatically, so that only information pertinent to the current input field gets displayed when needed.

In addition to working as an add-in to Applix on the UNIX environment, TOPS also works on the PC platform as an Add-In to Excel for Windows 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, Lotus 123 3.x and Lotus for Windows 4.x and 5.x. It also integrates seamlessly into any In-House software, and can be hooked up to software from Renaissance, Infinity, Devon, and Summit, etc. TOPS also accepts real time data feeds from Reuters, Knight-Ridder and Telerate, etc.

Values and Hedges virtually any Derivative Structure

TOPS values thousands of complex structures that are derivations of the following core exotic structures: Ratchets, Baskets, Caption, Floating Caps & Floors, MBSVal, Barriers, Barrier Swaptions, OptInst, Lookbacks, Better and Worse of two assets, Digitals, Quantos, Option on Options, Exchange Options, Swaptions, Asians/Average, Installment Options, Indexed Amortizing Swaps/Indexed Principal Swaps, Accrual Swaps/Range Notes, Commodity Swaps, Standard Strips, Digital Quantos, Standard Options, Caps and Floors, Choosers, Cash Flow Valuation, Spread Options, Interest Rate Swaps and more.

Each core TOPS options model is designed to handle American, European, and Hybrid/Bermuda options, as well as options on a cash instrument, a futures contract, or a forward contract. In addition to Option Prices, each core option model provides the full range of sensitivity measures including delta, gamma, theta, vega, foreign rho, rho, and implied volatility.

Pricing

TOPS for Applix offers models that are available individually with introductory prices of $1,500 to $3,000 per model, plus generous volume discounts. A maintenance contract is available for 15% annually.

Background

In the 18 months since the announcement of TOPS on Excel/TOPS on Lotus, TOPS has garnered over 100 institutional clients. Savvysoft is a leading supplier of derivatives software and consulting. All product names referenced herein are trademarks of their respective companies.