New Contract Extends Five-Year Relationship

NEW YORK, February 4, 2008 — BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, the global leader in asset servicing, has been reappointed by ING Funds as global custodian for approximately $117 billion in assets. In continuing a successful five-year partnership, BNY Mellon also will provide fund accounting, securities lending, risk reporting, foreign exchange and shareholder servicing to the ING Funds.

"The quality and level of our reporting and the responsiveness of our client service teams were among the reasons that ING cited in extending this relationship," said Patrick E. Curtin, executive vice president of BNY Mellon Asset Servicing and head of U.S. Asset Services. "We look forward to providing ING with the benefit of our growing capabilities. We continue to invest heavily in the asset servicing business and expect to deliver increasingly higher levels of support."

ING Group is a global financial services company of Dutch origin with 150 years of experience, providing a wide array of banking, insurance and asset management services in over 50 countries. Its 120,000 employees work daily to satisfy a broad customer base: individuals, families, small businesses, large corporations, institutions and governments. Based on market capitalization, ING is one of the 20 largest financial institutions worldwide and ranked in the top-10 in Europe.

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing offers clients worldwide a broad spectrum of specialized asset servicing capabilities, including custody and fund services, securities lending, performance and analytics, and execution services. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing provides services through The Bank of New York, Mellon Bank, N.A. and other related companies.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has more than $20 trillion in assets under custody and administration, more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management and services $11 trillion in outstanding debt. Additional information is available at bnymellon.com.