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NEW YORK, April 5, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- In an effort to better distinguish OTC securities that are registered and reporting with U.S. regulators, Pink OTC Markets Inc. (OTCQX: PINK), today announced the creation of the OTCQB(TM) marketplace. This new comprehensive OTC market tier will include the securities of over 768 SEC reporting companies and banks formerly designated as Pink Sheets(R) stocks, in addition to the 3050 securities that are currently quoted in both Pink OTC Markets' electronic interdealer quotation system and FINRA's OTCBB(TM).

Pink OTC Markets' electronic interdealer quotation and trading system has become the leading platform for market makers, agency brokers and ECNs in the U.S. OTC market. More broker-dealers are choosing the superior performance and functionality of Pink OTC Markets' open, transparent and broker-neutral platform over FINRA's OTCBB for publishing quotes in SEC reporting and bank reporting stocks. The Pink OTC platform has 49,196 priced quotes and 7.93 market makers per security compared to 10,922 priced quotes and 6.25 market makers per security on the OTC Bulletin Board. As a result, it is important Pink OTC Markets provide a separate designation to identify OTC-traded companies that are registered with the SEC or banking regulator and remain current in their reporting obligations. With the creation of OTCQB, investors will now be able to easily identify all registered and reporting companies quoted on the OTC market's leading platform for market makers, agency brokers and ECNs.

In addition to the newly launched OTCQB, Pink OTC Markets also operates the quality- controlled OTCQX(R) marketplace for investor friendly companies and the Pink Sheets speculative trading marketplace.

"We created the OTCQB as the middle tier of the OTC market to better distinguish OTC-traded companies that have made the substantial commitment to investor disclosure by being registered and reporting with a U.S. regulator," said R. Cromwell Coulson, President and CEO of Pink OTC Markets Inc. "By segmenting the OTC marketplace, we believe that issuers will be motivated to provide the highest level of disclosure and compliance that they are capable of supplying, which will ultimately lead to more efficient capital allocation by investors."

Pink OTC Markets makes Real-Time Level 2 market maker quotations for all OTCQB securities available to investors on . All securities in the new OTCQB tier will be displayed on with an icon reading, "OTCQB - U.S. Registered." For more information on the OTC Market Tiers, see: . About Pink OTC Markets Inc.

Pink OTC Markets Inc. (OTCQX: PINK) operates the leading electronic interdealer quotation and trading system and facilitates trading in over 9,000 securities not listed on a U.S. stock exchange. Pink OTC Markets segments these securities into three tiers: the quality-controlled OTCQX marketplace, the U.S. registered and reporting OTCQB marketplace, and the speculative trading Pink Sheets marketplace. These three tiers constitute the third largest U.S. liquidity pool for trading public company shares, after The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. and The New York Stock Exchange. Our products and services promote market transparency, improve price discovery, facilitate regulatory compliance, and increase the quality of issuer disclosure, to the benefit of all OTC market participants. To learn more about how Pink OTC Markets' products and services make OTC markets more transparent, informed, and efficient, please visit our websites at , and or contact us at [e-mail].

SOURCE Pink OTC Markets Inc.
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