Bank of Ireland Liquidity Fund ranked best in the world

The Bank of Ireland Sterling Liquidity Fund has been ranked the best performing liquidity fund in the world for 2007* beating stiff competition from leading names like Goldman Sachs, Fidelity and JPMorgan. Two other funds in the range, the USD and EUR Liquidity Funds, were ranked second. This is the fifth year in a row that these funds have ranked in the top two globally.

Liquidity funds are popular with investors seeking a secure, well-diversified investment option for surplus cash. They deliver competitive deposit rates with the benefit of same day access in a Aaa/MR1+ rated fund**. Aaa/MR1+ fund ratings are only awarded by Moody’s Investors Service to investment funds of the highest quality. The ratings reflect the high credit quality and underlying liquidity of the investments in the fund, together with BIAM’s robust investment process, sound compliance and risk management structure.

BIAM has also launched 3 Enhanced Cash Funds as part of its Money Market Funds range. These funds take the risk profile of liquidity funds and extend it in terms of credit and interest rate risk. As a result, they suit investors with a longer-term investment horizon seeking higher returns.

Sean Crowe, Head of Global Fixed Income and Specialist Products, BIAM said: “The world class performance of these funds is a significant achievement given both the calibre of competition and the fact that we have consistently been in the top two over the last five years. Given the ongoing volatility in markets and the increasing appetite for risk-controlled investments we believe the liquidity funds, together with the 3 new enhanced cash funds we are launching this week, will prove very attractive to investors. We currently have approximately €4 billion under management in Money Market Funds and would expect this to grow significantly during 2008.”

Ends

February 6 2008

Contacts:
Anne Mathews
Media Relations Manager
Group Corporate Communications
Ph. 00 353 1 604 3836 or 00 353 87 246 0358

Notes to Editor

About BIAM
Bank of Ireland Asset Management is a global investment management firm, headquartered in Dublin. Founded in 1966, today we operate from locations based in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. We provide a wide range of specialist investment solutions to institutional and private investors worldwide.

Money Market Funds
Money Market Funds were first established in the US in 1971. Today, almost 2,000 funds exist with total assets of over USD2.3 trillion.

*2007 Performance Awards
iMoneyNet presents the Offshore Money Fund Report Awards for US dollar, euro and sterling money-market funds offered to non-US investors. This represents a fund universe of 372 funds.

**Fund Credit Ratings ? Aaa/MR1+
Moody’s money market and bond fund credit ratings are opinions of the investment quality of shares in mutual funds and similar investment vehicles, which principally invest in short-term and long-term fixed income obligations, respectively. The ratings are not intended to consider the prospective performance of a fund with respect to appreciation, volatility of net asset value, or yield. Funds rated Aaa are judged to be of an investment quality similar to Aaa-rated fixed income obligations ? that is, they are judged to be of the best quality.

Moody’s market risk ratings are opinions of the relative degree of volatility of a rated fund’s net asset value, with an emphasis on downside risk. The rating is not intended to consider prospective performance of a fund with respect to price appreciation or yield. Funds rated MR1+ have a very low sensitivity to changing interest rates and other market conditions.