HSBC Securities Joins TradeWeb’s TBA-MBS Marketplace

TradeWeb TBA-MBS Volume Growth on Record Pace 

JERSEY CITY, NJ (March 2, 2005) - Thomson TradeWeb, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), a leading global provider of integrated information solutions to professional customers, announced today that HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. has started providing liquidity in TBA-MBS securities for its customers over TradeWeb. TradeWeb is the leading dealer-to-customer online marketplace for fixed-income. In addition to its presence on TradeWeb's MBS marketplace, HSBC also provides liquidity over seven other TradeWeb markets; US Treasuries, US Agencies, Corporate Bonds, European Government Bonds, Supranationals, Pfandbriefe/Covered Bonds, and most recently Interest Rate Swaps.

By joining TradeWeb TBA-MBS, HSBC enters the leading electronic MBS marketplace where major institutional investors and mortgage originators access the liquidity of 18 dealers and trade more than $60 billion in volume each day. Other members of TradeWeb's TBA-MBS dealer group include: Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Greenwich Capital, ABN AMRO, Bear Stearns, UBS Investment Bank, Banc of America Securities, Countrywide Securities, Wachovia Securities, Barclays Capital, and WaMu Capital Corp.

"We are excited about the addition of HSBC to our TBA-MBS marketplace," said Jim Toffey, Chief Executive Officer of Thomson TradeWeb. "With another record month and the addition of another dealer to our MBS marketplace, TradeWeb continues to build momentum and solidify its position as the leading electronic marketplace for the TBA-MBS market."

Todd White, Managing Director and CoHead of Mortgage Trading at HSBC, added, "HSBC is committed to building a world class mortgage franchise that centers on providing clients with superior service and liquidity. We see our participation in TradeWeb's TBA-MBS dealer group as a natural fit with our growing business and approach in servicing customers."

TradeWeb TBA-MBS marketplace continues to grow at a rapid rate. Monthly volume topped $1 trillion in January. Contributing to this phenomenal growth is the continued acceptance of electronic trading among major mortgage investors and dealers. During the last 12 months four new dealers including HSBC joined TradeWeb's TBA-MBS marketplace which has significantly expanded the liquidity that TradeWeb users can now access over the platform.

About Thomson TradeWeb

TradeWeb is the leading online fixed-income trading network with nearly 7 million trades executed and total volume surpassing $65 trillion since its inception in 1998. TradeWeb's multi-dealer auction model links the trading desks of 32 of the world's leading fixed-income dealers with more than 1,800 buy-side institutions around the globe. It currently operates 11 fixed-income online marketplaces.

The business is also the leading electronic "straight-through processing" network for the fixed-income markets, providing dealers and buy-side institutions with paperless trade allocations and confirmations on its fully integrated TradeXpress network. TradeWeb's STP network also includes AccountNet, the leading standard settlement instructions database.

Thomson TradeWeb operates within the Thomson Financial group of businesses. TradeWeb LLC is a member of the NASD. TradeWeb Europe Limited is regulated by the U.K. FSA.

About Thomson Financial

Thomson Financial is a US$1.73 billion provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to more than 20 million business and professional customers in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$8.10 billion, The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

About HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. is a financial services leader, serving a wide-range of corporate and institutional clients. It engages in underwriting, dealing, and brokering a full range of debt and equity securities and futures contracts and serves as a primary dealer in US government and federal agency securities. Through its global network, HSBC provides its clients with seamless, 24-hour trading capabilities.