The OIC Announces November Volume Decreases 21 Percent

Chicago—December 1, 2008

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 244,882,521 total options contracts were traded in November representing a 21.2 percent decrease compared to November 2007 volume. Average daily volume for the month was 12,888,554 contracts compared to 14,800,054 contracts for the same period last year and representing a 12.9 percent decline.

Year-to-date volume, reported by The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), stood at 3,361,205,369 contracts, an increase of 28 percent compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date daily volume is averaging 14,550,672 contracts, which is also up 28 percent over November 2007.

Equity options saw 223,292,150 contracts change hands last month, 21.1 percent less than November 2007. Year-to-date equity options volume totals 3,081,231,110 contracts, up 29.8 percent over the same point last year. Year-to-date equity options volume averaged 13,338,663 contracts per day through November, an increase of 29.8 percent over the same period last year.

About OIC

OIC is an industry cooperative funded by the American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ Options Market, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NYSE Arca, and The Options Clearing Corporation. OIC was formed in 1992 to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. OIC's resources include: The Options Industry Services Help Desk at 1-888-OPTIONS, educational Web sites at www.optionseducation.org and www.OICoptions.com, evening seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, instructional DVDs and educational literature and software.

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