E*TRADE Takes Control of European Licensee

In a move to bolster its global trading strategy, E*TRADE Group Inc. Friday bought E*TRADE
@ NetBourse S.A., the company’s licensee for Belgium, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Austria, Italy and France.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

E*TRADE International says that the buy is part of a larger plan to develop
regional centers which serve the company’s overall goals of strong
management control, cost effectiveness and established economies of scale.

“The E*TRADE @ NetBourse acquisition further strengthens our European
strategy by allowing us to leverage greater efficiencies in operations,
management and technology, while advancing our overall growth plans,” said
Judy Balint, E*TRADE International’s president and COO.

Balint added that the regional centers will play into the capitalization of
E*TRADE’s (EGRP)
cross-border online trading network, which is expected to be operational
by the end of next year.

The local entities will also be linked to the company’s watershed purchase
of TIR Holdings, which the company says will offer deep operational
experience as well as the infrastructure for a global trading system.

In a similar move aimed at aggregating the brokerage’s international
holdings, the company last month purchased E*TRADE Nordic AB, its licensee
in Scandinavia. E*TRADE also recently invested in The European Association
of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (EASDAQ), and has set up shop in
Germany.