[LOGO - Benfield Grieg]                              [LOGO - EW Blanch]

BENFIELD GREIG GROUP PLC

BENFIELD GREIG OBTAINS SHAREHOLDER COMMITMENT REQUIRED FOR ACQUISITION
OF E.W. BLANCH

London, England, and Dallas, Texas, April 23, 2001 - Benfield Greig Group
plc ("Benfield Greig"), the leading U.K. based independent reinsurance
intermediary, and E.W. Blanch Holdings, Inc. ("E.W. Blanch") (NYSE: EWB), a
leading U.S. provider of integrated risk management and distribution
services, announced today that Benfield Greig has obtained irrevocable
agreements from certain of its shareholders representing more than 75% of
its issued share capital to vote in favor of certain resolutions required
for its proposed acquisition of E.W. Blanch to proceed. The affirmative
votes of these shareholders will be sufficient to pass the necessary
resolutions.

Benfield Greig and E.W. Blanch announced last week that they had entered
into a merger agreement under which Benfield Greig will acquire all of the
outstanding shares of E.W. Blanch for USD 13.50 per share in cash, or
approximately USD 179 million (GBP 123 million).

Under the terms of the merger agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Benfield Greig will commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding
shares of E.W. Blanch at the purchase price of USD 13.50 per share in cash
no later than April 30, 2001. The tender offer is scheduled to expire 20
business days after commencement unless extended and is subject to
financing and other customary terms and conditions including receipt of all
antitrust and other regulatory approvals. Following the completion of the
tender offer, Benfield Greig will acquire any remaining publicly held
shares of E.W. Blanch at the offer price of USD 13.50 through a merger
transaction.

                                  - ends -

For further information:

FOR BENFIELD GREIG GROUP:             FOR E.W. BLANCH:
David Haggie                          Andrew Brimmer
Haggie Financial                      Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Tel:  + 44 20 7417 8989               Tel:  + 1 212 355 4449 (extn 111)
Mobile:  + 44 7768 332486             Email:  ahb@joelefrank.com
Email:  david@haggie.co.uk                    ------------------
        ------------------

FOR BENFIELD GREIG US:
Howard Liszt
Benfield Greig US
Tel:  + 1 612 626 2031
Email:  HLiszt@mr.net



Lexicon Partners Limited and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. which are regulated
in the United Kingdom by The Securities and Futures Authority Limited, are
acting for Benfield Greig Group plc in connection with the merger and for
no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than Benfield Greig
Group plc for providing the protections afforded to customers of Lexicon
Partners Limited and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. or for providing advice in
relation to the merger.

This announcement has been approved by Lexicon Partners Limited and Bear,
Stearns & Co. Inc. for the purposes of Section 57 of the Financial Services
Act 1986.

This announcement does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase
any securities. Any such offer will only be made in documents to be
published in due course and any such purchase should be made solely on the
basis of information contained in those documents.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of E.W.
Blanch Holdings, Inc. and, accordingly, actual results may differ
materially. E.W. Blanch Holdings, Inc.'s Form 10-K filed with the SEC
includes a discussion of these risk factors and is incorporated herein by
reference.

THE TENDER OFFER WILL BE MADE ONLY THROUGH DEFINITIVE TENDER OFFER
DOCUMENTS, WHICH WILL BE FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
AND MAILED TO THE STOCKHOLDERS OF E.W. BLANCH HOLDINGS, INC. E.W. BLANCH
HOLDINGS, INC. STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD READ THE TENDER OFFER DOCUMENTS
CAREFULLY WHEN THEY ARE AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION. FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF THE TENDER OFFER, BENFIELD GREIG GROUP
PLC WILL ACQUIRE ANY REMAINING PUBLICLY HELD SHARES OF E.W. BLANCH
HOLDINGS, INC. AT THE OFFER PRICE OF USD 13.50 THROUGH A MERGER
TRANSACTION. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS MAY OBTAIN A FREE COPY OF THESE
STATEMENTS (WHEN AVAILABLE) AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED BY BENFIELD GREIG
GROUP PLC AND E.W. BLANCH HOLDINGS, INC. AT THE SEC'S WEBSITE AT
WWW.SEC.GOV. THE TENDER OFFER STATEMENT AND RELATED MATERIALS MAY ALSO BE
OBTAINED FOR FREE BY DIRECTING SUCH REQUESTS TO BENFIELD GREIG GROUP PLC.