NEW YORK, January 20, 2011 — Dreyfus*, part of BNY Mellon Asset Management, today announced that its Retail Services Call Center has been awarded the "Best-In-Class Rating" from National Quality Review (NQR) for service excellence, for the third quarter of 2010.

"Excellent customer service has always been one of Dreyfus' hallmarks," said Dreyfus Chairman and CEO Jon Baum.  "This esteemed award recognizes Dreyfus for its accomplishment of being the firm with the highest quality rating among all financial firms reviewed and evaluated by NQR during that period. Being recognized for service excellence in such a challenging market environment makes this recognition all the more meaningful."

NQR analyzed the service quality of 30 mutual fund companies for the third quarter of 2010.  The Dreyfus Retail Services Call Center has also consistently achieved NQR's 5-Star rating since the third quarter of 2009, having ranked in the top quartile of all NQR clients for the previous four consecutive quarters.  

NQR's 5-Star rating is designed to recognize top service quality performance.    The 5-Star rating is based on the statistical range of top-quartile performance of NQR participants in the prior calendar year.  A NQR client is considered to be a 5-Star performer for call center service quality when it attains the 5-Star level for a given four-quarter period.  The 5-Star rating is not only a reflection of outstanding service performance, but is also recognition of service organizations that have been able to sustain that level of quality over the long term.  

*The Dreyfus Corporation, established in 1951 and headquartered in New York City, is one of the nation's leading asset management and distribution companies, currently managing more than $400 billion in mutual funds and separately managed accounts.   The Dreyfus brand includes The Dreyfus Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary, MBSC Securities Corporation.  The Dreyfus Retail Services and Institutional Call Centers are part of MBSC Securities Corporation.  

BNY Mellon Asset Management is the umbrella organization for BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms and global distribution companies.

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon 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 $25.0 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.17 trillion in assets under management, services $12.0 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.6 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

National Quality Review ("NQR"), founded in 1991, is an independent consulting firm that provides financial service companies with statistically reliable service quality evaluations and competitive analyses. NQR works with many of the industry's leading companies in the United States. Their analysts have an average of 15 years' financial services experience.  Among other services, NQR provides objective evaluations of service quality, and validates that transactions processed and information provided by service organizations comply with regulatory requirements, operational processing standards, and client expectations based on the leading practices in the financial services industry.

All information source BNY Mellon Asset Management as of September 30, 2010. This press release is qualified for issuance in the US only and is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation of securities or investment services or an endorsement thereof in any jurisdiction or in any circumstance in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or not authorized. This press release is issued by BNY Mellon Asset Management to members of the financial press and media and the information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice.  Past performance is not a guide to future performance.