ISE Announces Market Makers for ISE FX Options(TM)

  
    
  
  
    
      The International Securities Exchange (NYSE: ISE) today announced that 
      Timber Hill LLC, the market making subsidiary of Interactive Brokers, 
      will serve as the Primary Market Maker (PMM®) 
      for the first four currency pairs of ISE FX Options™ 
      that will be listed on the Exchange. Additionally, Citigroup Derivatives 
      Markets Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc., and Optiver US, LLC will act as 
      Competitive Market Makers (CMMs®) in a variety 
      of the products. Trading will initially take place in the following four 
      currency pairs: USD/EUR (Symbol: EUI), USD/GBP (Symbol: BPX), USD/JPY 
      (Symbol: YUK), and USD/CAD (Symbol: CDD).
    
    
      ISE has established a new type of market maker membership class for 
      quoting in ISE FX Options, and market makers were determined 
      through a competitive auction process. A PMM trading license extends for 
      three years and specifies certain market quality commitments. CMM 
      trading licenses have a one-year term. ISE Electronic Access Members 
      (EAMs) will be able to trade this innovative new product using their 
      current memberships.
    
    
      Sean Flynn, a trader at Timber Hill who oversaw the firm’s 
      bid for its FX PMM licenses, said, “Foreign 
      exchange continues to grow in importance as an asset class, and we 
      believe the FX market offers substantial opportunities for investors. 
      Access to the FX market has historically been very limited for retail 
      investors, but ISE FX Options will provide the retail segment 
      with a straightforward vehicle to easily enter and trade the market. For 
      these reasons, we believe ISE FX Options will be an attractive 
      product for retail investors, and Timber Hill is committed to making 
      quality markets from Day One.”
    
    
      ISE FX Options provide investors with exposure to rate movements 
      in the global foreign currency markets and allow traders to express 
      their views on the strength or weakness of the US dollar without the 
      need to hold the actual foreign currency. As exchange-listed securities, ISE 
      FX Options can be easily accessed through most major brokerage 
      accounts that are approved for trading equity and index options. These 
      products will be cash-settled and have European style exercise.
    
    
      ISE FX Options are scheduled to launch early in the second 
      quarter of 2007, pending SEC approval. For more information, please 
      visit www.isefxoptions.com.
    
    
      ISE Background
    
    
      International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ISE), through 
      its subsidiaries, operates a family of innovative securities markets. 
      ISE is founded on the principle that technology and competition create 
      better, more efficient markets for investors and consists of an options 
      exchange, a stock exchange and an alternative markets platform. ISE 
      continually enhances its trading systems and develops new products to 
      provide investors with the best marketplace and investment tools to 
      trade smarter.
    
    
      ISE developed a unique market structure for advanced screen-based 
      trading systems and in May 2000 launched the first fully electronic US 
      options exchange. Currently, ISE operates the largest U.S. equity 
      options exchange and is among the leading options exchanges in the 
      world. ISE offers index options, including a portfolio of proprietary 
      index products, and enhanced market data products for sophisticated 
      investors. ISE FX Options™ are slated to 
      launch in 2007.
    
    
      ISE Stock Exchange, launched in September 2006 with strategic partners, 
      includes an innovative MidPoint Match™ 
      platform which offers investors continuous price improvement. MidPoint 
      Match was integrated with a fully displayed Best Bid Offer market in the 
      fourth quarter of 2006.
    
    
      ISE’s alternative markets business currently 
      consists of an events market trading platform known as Longitude. 
      Longitude’s patented and proprietary 
      technology provides a unique parimutuel structure for derivatives 
      auctions which results in greater trading and pricing flexibility for 
      market participants.
    
    
      For more information about ISE and its options exchange, visit www.iseoptions.com 
      and for more information about ISE Stock Exchange, visit www.isestock.com. 
      Additionally, to learn more about ISE alternative markets technology, 
      visit www.longitude.com.
    
    
      Forward Looking Statements
    
    
      Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward 
      looking statements” intended to qualify for 
      the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities 
      Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events 
      or our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown 
      risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual 
      results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, to be 
      materially different from those contemplated by the forward looking 
      statements. We undertake no ongoing obligation, other than that imposed 
      by law, to update these statements. Factors that could affect our 
      results, levels of activity, performance or achievements and cause them 
      to materially differ from those contained in the forward looking 
      statements can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange 
      Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, current reports on 
      Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as amended.