BNL and First Data Announce Launch of BNL POSitivity; Walter Pinci, General Manager, Appointed to Drive Growth of Merchant Acquiring Joint Venture

The announcement marks the successful completion of theauthorization process required to start operations. BNL transferredits merchant acquiring business portfolio to BNL POSitivity and thensold 49% of the share capital to First Data, generating a net capitalgain for BNL of approximately EUR 10 million.

The merchant acquiring business portfolio transferred by BNL iscomposed of thousands of POS terminals, active on the domestic marketover several years.

The new venture enables BNL Group to expand its merchant businessin Italy and to strengthen its positioning in the corporate and smallbusiness segments, whilst ensuring First Data's presence in thevaluable Italian electronic payments market.

To lead the new company, BNL and First Data have appointed WalterPinci as general manager of BNL POSitivity.

Mr. Pinci stated: "The combination of BNL's strong branch networkand expertise in corporate banking with First Data's proven competencein merchant acquiring gives BNL POSitivity an unrivalled serviceoffering for Italian merchants. I am excited by the opportunities forour new company which aims to become a leading player and agent forchange in the Italian market, with the objective, in the medium-term,of achieving significant market share. We will deliver serviceexcellence and an extended range of high-quality products and servicesthat represent real value for Italian merchants."

About Walter Pinci, General Manager of BNL POSitivity

Walter Pinci joined the company from American Express where heserved as Vice President and Head of Strategic Alliances in Europe. Inthis role, Mr. Pinci was also responsible for managing AmericanExpress' Italian merchant business.

About BNL

BNL Group is one of the largest Italian banking groups, rankingsixth in terms of total assets which amounted to EUR 87.3 billion asof 30th September 2005. Founded in 1913, BNL was privatized in 1998and has since undergone a far-reaching restructuring, which has turnedthe Group, traditionally a corporate lender with a significantinternational presence, into a predominantly domestic player operatingin both the corporate and the retail sector. The Group offers a widerange of banking services: in the retail sector it has leadingpositions in mortgages and personal loans, and is active in the areasof debit/credit cards, asset management and bancassurance; in thecorporate sector it offers a complete range of services with asignificant presence in all forms of credit including project finance,leasing, factoring and cross-border payments, in addition tointernational banking, financial risks management and brokerage.BNL's commercial strategy is centered around a multi-channeldistribution approach, leveraging on a broad distribution networkacross Italy, and on self-banking, phone-banking and e-bankingpositions.

About First Data

First Data Corp. (NYSE:FDC) is a leading provider of electroniccommerce and payment solutions for businesses and consumers worldwide.Serving 4.6 million merchant locations, 1,500 card issuers andmillions of consumers, First Data powers the global economy by makingit easy, fast and secure for people and businesses around the world tobuy goods and services using virtually any form of payment. Thecompany's portfolio of services and solutions includes credit, debit,private-label, smart and stored-value card issuing and merchanttransaction processing services; money transfer services; moneyorders; fraud protection and authentication solutions; check guaranteeand verification services through TeleCheck; as well as Internetcommerce and mobile solutions. Western Union and its subsidiary,Orlandi Valuta, together make up one of the world's largest moneytransfer networks with approximately 271,000 Agent locations in morethan 200 countries and territories. The company's STAR Network offersPIN-secured debit acceptance at 1.9 million ATM and retail locations.For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.

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