ISE Intl Secs Exchange Hldgs

The International Securities Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ISE) today reported that average daily trading volume for equity and index options contracts for March 2006 increased 26.5% to 2.1 million contracts as compared to 1.7 million contracts during the same period in 2005. Total equity and index options volume for the month increased 32.3% to 49.2 million contracts from 37.2 million contracts in the same year-ago period. On a year-to-date basis, average daily trading volume of equity and index options increased 37.6% to 2.4 million contracts traded as compared to 1.7 million contracts traded in the prior year. Total equity and index volume through March 2006 increased 39.9% to 147.8 million contracts from 105.7 million contracts in the same period last year. As was the case in prior months, we witnessed trading activity among options market makers on certain other exchanges related to dividend trades. The trading activity associated with dividend trades once again allowed traders to profit at the expense of investors who failed to exercise their call options immediately prior to a stock going ex-dividend. If the volume from the largest dividend trades were excluded from the data, our market share of equity options for the month of March would increase to 34.3% from 32.3%, an increase of 2.0 market share points. On a year-to-date basis our market share would increase to 34.6% from 32.7%, an increase of 1.9 market share points, if the volume from the largest dividend trades were excluded. The exclusion of dividend trades from total industry volume data presents a more relevant measure of the relative trends in our business. -0- *T Equity and Index Options Volume Statistics ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Month (000s) Mar-06 Mar-05 % Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Average Daily Volume 2,139.2 1,690.6 26.5% ISE Total Volume 49,202.3 37,193.6 32.3% Industry Average Daily Volume 7,137.2 5,635.1 26.7% Market Share 30.0% 30.0% 0.0 pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Market Share: Customer 31.7% 30.3% 1.4 pts ISE Market Share: Firm 24.2% 22.6% 1.6 pts ISE Market Share: Market Maker 30.3% 31.8% (1.5) pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year-to-Date (000s) Mar-06 Mar-05 % Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Average Daily Volume 2,384.1 1,732.6 37.6% ISE Total Volume 147,815.1 105,687.3 39.9% Industry Average Daily Volume 7,827.7 5,699.9 37.3% Market Share 30.5% 30.4% 0.1 pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Market Share: Customer 32.1% 30.7% 1.4 pts ISE Market Share: Firm 24.9% 21.2% 3.7 pts ISE Market Share: Market Maker 30.6% 32.6% (2.0) pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Equity Options Volume Statistics ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Month (000s) Mar-06 Mar-05 % Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Average Daily Volume 2,115.1 1,679.2 26.0% ISE Total Volume 48,646.5 36,943.0 31.7% Industry Average Daily Volume 6,548.9 5,130.6 27.6% Market Share 32.3% 32.7% (0.4) pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Market Share: Customer 31.7% 30.3% 1.4 pts ISE Market Share: Firm 24.2% 22.6% 1.6 pts ISE Market Share: Market Maker 30.3% 31.8% (1.5) pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year-to-Date (000s) Mar-06 Mar-05 % Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Average Daily Volume 2,356.4 1,727.2 36.4% ISE Total Volume 146,095.3 105,360.8 38.7% Industry Average Daily Volume 7,201.7 5,223.2 37.9% Market Share 32.7% 33.1% (0.4) pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Market Share: Customer 32.1% 30.3% 1.8 pts ISE Market Share: Firm 24.9% 22.0% 2.9 pts ISE Market Share: Market Maker 30.6% 31.5% (0.9) pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Index Options Volume Statistics ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Month (000s) Mar-06 Mar-05 % Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Average Daily Volume 24.2 11.4 112.2% ISE Total Volume 555.8 250.5 121.9% Industry Average Daily Volume 588.4 504.5 16.6% Market Share 4.1% 2.3% 1.8 pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year-to-Date (000s) Mar-06 Mar-05 % Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISE Average Daily Volume 27.7 5.4 418.2% ISE Total Volume 1,719.8 326.6 426.7% Industry Average Daily Volume 625.9 476.7 31.3% Market Share 4.4% 1.1% 3.3 pts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *T Monthly Highlights -- ISE was the largest U.S. equity options exchange in March. -- On March 17, 2006 ISE declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per outstanding share of its Class A Common Stock, payable on March 31, 2006 to holders of record as of the close of business on March 23, 2006. -- On March 20, 2006 ISE was added to the Dow Jones Global Exchange Index. -- ISE traded more volume in 657 of 878 issues in its listings than any other options exchange. ISE Background The International Securities Exchange, the world's largest equity options exchange, was founded on the principle that technology fosters and infuses new efficiencies and operational innovations into securities trading. After developing an innovative market structure that integrated auction market principles into an advanced screen-based trading system, ISE launched the first fully electronic US options exchange in May 2000. ISE continually enhances its trading systems to provide investors with the best marketplace to execute their options orders. For more information about ISE, its products and its technology, visit www.iseoptions.com. This press release contains "forward looking statements." These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward looking statements. We undertake no ongoing obligation, other than that imposed by law, to update these statements. Factors that could affect our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements and cause them to materially differ from those contained in the forward looking statements can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our registration statements on Form S-1, current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as amended.