Press Release: November 29, 2000

Freddie Mac to Use WR Hambrecht + Co Auction Process for Reference Note Auctions

San Francisco, CA, November 29, 2000—WR Hambrecht + Co today announced that Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) has signed an agreement to use WRH+Co’s auction technology for Reference Note auctions. The first auction is anticipated to take place in early 2001 with six to eight more to follow in 2001.

Freddie Mac’s Reference Notes and Bonds were designed to raise capital for housing in the United States by providing investors with large, liquid bellwether securities. Since the initial Reference Note issue two years ago, the total amount of outstanding Reference Notes and Bonds is approximately $125 billion.

“Freddie Mac’s endorsement of our auction system is a significant step in our efforts to provide openness, fairness and transparency in the marketplace,“ said Bill Hambrecht, Chairman and CEO of WR Hambrecht + Co. “Freddie Mac was an early innovator in the mortgage-backed securities market and they continue to be a leader in the rapidly changing financial markets.”

Borrowing upon its OpenBook technology, WR Hambrecht + Co will customize a web-based platform to Freddie Mac specifications and administer regular Reference Note auctions in a traditional sealed-bid Dutch auction format among Freddie Mac’s existing primary dealer group. Freddie Mac plans to announce auction details, rules, and procedures in the near future.

Using the OpenBook auction, WR Hambrecht + Co conducted the first successful online auction of US corporate debt with a $300 million offering for Dow Chemical in August 2000. WR Hambrecht + Co has also completed four OpenIPO offerings, the auction for initial public offerings. Other WR Hambrecht + Co auction products for secondary offerings and block trades are due to be introduced in the next quarter.

“Following on the heels of the $300 million Dow Chemical OpenBook offering, as well as several OpenIPOs, the agreement with Freddie Mac is a further indication of the power of the auction in capital markets,” said Clay Corbus, Senior Managing Director in charge of the Auction Products Group at WR Hambrecht + Co.

“Reference Note auctions represent yet another way Freddie Mac is providing investors with liquidity, transparency, and regularity, the key attributes of our debt funding program,” observed Jon Prince, Managing Director of Debt Marketing at Freddie Mac. “And we have complete confidence that the experience and craftsmanship of WR Hambrecht + Co will help us deliver a top-notch auction process to the markets.”