The ability to execute on-line transactions through bfinance with leading banking providers is coupled with a unique approach to information coverage. bfinance provides the first true news and multi-bank transaction platform specifically for company finance.

bfinance is Europe's leading on-line provider of financial services and news for business finance professionals. With over 120 banks referenced on the site, bfinance has been responsible for the financing of more than 150 transactions. The portal provides European corporates with both a news service (sourced from bfinance's own journalist team and specialist providers such as Reuters) and an auction site for non-listed financial products such as lines of credit, operating & financial leases, asset-backed finance, insurance and asset management.

The market for such non-listed financial transactions within Europe represents one of the largest global banking markets and is estimated at Euro 7,000 billion per annum. bfinance is the leading transaction platform in this market with an established office in Paris and offices recently opened in London, Munich and Stockholm. Financial partners include leading institutions such as Deutsche Bank, BNP-Paribas and Barclays as well as specialist providers such as UBS Warburg Asset Management and GE Capital.

bfinance is backed by some of the largest and most experienced venture capital firms in Europe, including General Electric, NetPartners, the Carlyle Group and Andersen Consulting.

bfinance does not charge corporates for using the site. Further, bfinance does not charge banks for being referenced on the site or for participating in bid tenders. bfinance only charges a success fee from banks that successfully win and close a transaction.

The content side of the site captures in a single location all the critical information our users require, including business finance news, expert articles and market data from a variety of sources. bfinance's City editorial team provides daily analysis of financial products and markets in a format designed to meet the needs of treasury professionals.

bfinance.co.uk takes advantage of the latest technology to offer online forums in which finance executives can exchange information and opinions. They can obtain answers to questions from other contributors as well as from our own recognised experts.

The attraction of bfinance to financial decision-makers within companies is clear: -

• bfinance is a free service - providing news and rates specifically tailored to the needs of corporate treasurers. The rate services (providing market data including LIBOR, exchange rates and stock prices) are comprehensive, real-time, and can be tailored by each user to meet their own requirements.
  
• bfinance allows corporates to enter transactions with banks that have expressed an interest in transacting with their type of company and their type of transaction. As a result, the menu of banks with whom a corporate can transact is substantially widened, but also targeted to the companies' needs.

bfinance's target market is dictated by our reference banks' target market. For example, niche-banking providers tend to target smaller companies and specialised transactions, whilst some clearers target a wide UK corporate target market.

bfinance.co.uk enables rapid and precise creation and transmission of bid tenders, provides access to leading financial institutions specifically targeting companies and delivers timely and efficient exchange of offers and documents via our auction room. bfinance.co.uk teams up with the latest Internet technology to improve the quality of corporate financing alternatives and reduce the time and cost of financial information searches.

As bfinance.co.uk has no competitors across Europe, it has established a significant presence with financial institutions and corporations. This presence will be further enhanced by bfinance "Version II," expected to come on-line in September. This will allow users to customise their bfinance site in order to incorporate specific rates and news to their own requirements.

The strength of bfinance as a multi-bank platform lies in its use of state-of-the-art avenues of communication; the portal creatively uses the internet to enable financial decision-makers to enter into transactions in a fundamentally new and efficient manner. bfinance (www.bfinance.com) is the premier European business-to-business financial information portal.