News Releases

Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC, today announces the launch of the first European iPath® Exchange Traded Notes (iPath ETNs) . The iPath® S&P 500 VIX Short-Term FuturesTM ETN and the iPath® S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term FuturesTM ETN provide investors with exposure to volatility and are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (XETRA). The ETNs can be accessed by investors in the UK, Germany and Italy.

iPath® ETNs were first launched by Barclays Capital in the US in 2006 and were designed to provide investors with convenient access to the returns of market benchmark indices, less an investor fee. The ETNs are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities linked to the performance of an underlying index. The first two iPath® ETNs in Europe are linked to the S&P 500 VIX Futures Indices.

“We are very excited to bring the iPath® ETN platform to investors in Europe. iPath ETNs have been tremendously successful in the US attracting over $5BN* in market capitalisation, with over $80BN in volume traded since inception,” said Philippe El-Asmar, Head of Investor Solutions at Barclays Capital. “iPath ETNs provide investors with simple, transparent, cost efficient instruments that provide access to difficult–to-reach markets with the ease of trading through an exchange.”

“We are happy to be able to offer investors another product innovation in cooperation with Barclays Capital,” said Rainer Riess, Managing Director of Xetra Market Development at Deutsche Börse. “The new iPath ETNs enable investors to make cost-efficient investments in a new asset class as well as further diversify their portfolios.”

Uwe Becker, Head of Investor Solutions Europe at Barclays Capital added: “The iPath VIX ETNs demonstrate Barclays Capital’s commitment to providing innovative investment products. The iPath S&P 500 VIX Futures ETNs can allow investors to manage risk and hedge equity exposure. They have removed the need for investors to trade volatility through variance swaps or futures”.

Today marks the global expansion of the iPath® ETN platform. In addition to this launch in Europe, Barclays Capital is cross-listing certain existing iPath® ETNs in Canada. The iPath® S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures™ ETN, the iPath® S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures™ ETN, the iPath® Optimized Currency Carry ETN, the iPath® JPY/USD Exchange Rate ETN, the iPath® GBP/USD Exchange Rate ETN, the iPath® EUR/USD Exchange Rate ETN and the iPath® CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite IndexSM ETN will each be cross-listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). There are currently 30 iPath ETNs listed on the NYSE Arca stock exchange in the United States

Further information can be found on the iPath Europe website www.ipathetn.eu.

-ENDS-

Contact:
Catherine Malloy
+44 (0)20 777 38939
catherine.malloy@barclayscapital.com

*As of December 3rd 2009

About Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC. With a distinctive business model, Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with a full spectrum of solutions to their strategic advisory, financing and risk management needs. Barclays Capital has offices around the world, employs 20,000 people and has the global reach, advisory services and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide.

For further information about Barclays Capital, please visit our website www.barclayscapital.com.
Barclays Capital - the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC. Registered in England 1026167. Registered office 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and a member of the London Stock Exchange.

“Standard & Poor’s®”, “S&P®”, “S&P 500®”, “Standard & Poor’s 500”, “S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures™” and “S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures™” are trademarks of S&P and have been licensed for use by Barclays. “VIX” is a registered trademark of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (“CBOE”) and has been licensed for use by S&P. The Securities are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P or the CBOE. S&P and CBOE make no representation, condition or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Securities or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Securities or in the ability of either index to track market performance.

[© 2009 Barclays Bank PLC. All rights reserved. iPath, iPath ETNs and the iPath logo are registered trademarks of Barclays Bank PLC. All other trademarks, servicemarks or registered trademarks are the property, and used with the permission, of their respective owners.]