FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:        Contacts: Betsy Castenir  -- 212-339-3424
                                        Francoise Lefebvre -- 33-1-43-92-80-20


                             DEXIA TO ACQUIRE FSA

         STRATEGIC COMBINATION SUPPORTS DEXIA'S WORLD LEADERSHIP ROLE

          IN PUBLIC FINANCE AND BROADENS FSA'S EUROPEAN OPPORTUNITIES

Brussels, Paris and New York, March 14, 2000--Dexia, Europe's largest
municipal lender with assets of over $230 billion, and Financial Security
Assurance Holdings Ltd. (FSA Holdings; NYSE:FSA), holding company for the
U.S-based bond insurer Financial Security Assurance Inc.(FSA), today announced
that Dexia and FSA Holdings have signed a definitive agreement providing for
the acquisition of FSA Holdings by Dexia for $76.00 per FSA share in cash, or
approximately $2.6 billion. The transaction has been approved by the boards of
both companies and is subject to FSA Holdings' shareholder and regulatory
approvals. The companies expect to close the transaction in the second quarter
of 2000.

White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., XL Capital Ltd, and MediaOne Capital
Corporation, have each entered into voting agreements in support of the
transaction. FSA expects Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co. to enter into a
similar agreement. These four shareholders in the aggregate control
approximately 44% of the voting shares of FSA.

Pierre Richard, Chief Executive Officer, Dexia, said "a combination of Dexia
and FSA will create a global leader in public finance and specialized
financing for corporations. In the U.S., Dexia's financial backing will
further enhance FSA's ability to compete successfully in the municipal and
asset-backed insurance sectors. In Europe, FSA will be able to take advantage
of Dexia's broad client network to leverage its core expertise in the rapidly
growing municipal infrastructure finance and securitization markets. The
significant financial strength and broad-based expertise of the combined
entity should also facilitate active participation in Japan and other
countries.

"In addition to the obvious benefits of global leadership, we believe that a
combination of our companies would represent a true partnership of two
focused, dynamic, professional organizations with complementary cultures. This
belief is based on our understanding of FSA's unique corporate identity, as
well as our significant, personal interaction with the Company's management.
We attribute the highest importance to these factors because they, in addition
to the strategic and financial aspects of a combination, will ultimately
determine our ability to succeed together," he added.

Robert P. Cochran, FSA Holdings Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said:
"FSA has built strong franchises in the U.S. municipal and asset-backed
businesses and has developed the core expertise to significantly expand its
participation in international markets. This merger provides our shareholders
with solid value and will help us to expand our business globally and develop
new financial guaranty products. Equally important, our expertise in the
insured markets will support Dexia's goal of world leadership in public
finance.

"We are very enthusiastic about this combination, which is also a great
opportunity for our customers and our employees. We are joining forces with a
large, financially strong and forward-looking financial services





leader that shares our commitment to building core competencies, providing the
highest level of service and maintaining credit underwriting discipline."

FSA guarantees principal and interest on municipal bonds and asset-backed
securities. Its Triple-A guaranty helps issuers lower their funding costs and
provides bondholders with the highest quality investments. FSA is
headquartered in New York and has additional offices in San Francisco and
Dallas. It also has a U.K. subsidiary, Financial Security Assurance (U.K.)
Limited; a Bermuda-based subsidiary, Financial Security Assurance
International Ltd.; and representative offices in Paris, Madrid, Singapore,
Sydney and Tokyo.

After the transaction closes, FSA's claims-paying ability will continue to be
rated Triple-A by Fitch IBCA, Inc., Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Standard
and Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) and Japan Rating and Investment Information,
Inc. (R&I).

Lazard acted as financial advisor to Dexia, and Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as
financial advisor to FSA.

Dexia , the European leader in financial services to the public sector,
operates through Credit Local de France, which specializes in lending to local
authorities and public sector project finance, Credit Communal de Belgique, a
Belgian retail bank, and Banque Internationale a Luxembourg, active in asset
management, private banking and fund administration. In addition to France,
Belgium and Luxembourg, the company has operations throughout Europe, as well
as offices in the Americas, Asia and Australia. Dexia is rated Aa1 by Moody's
and AA+ by Fitch IBCA and S&P. Dexia is listed on the Brussels, Paris and
Luxembourg Stock Exchanges.

                                      ###

FSA EXPECTS TO FILE A PROXY STATEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH ITS UPCOMING ANNUAL
SHAREHOLDERS MEETING CONTAINING INFORMATION ABOUT THE MERGER AND RELATED
TRANSACTIONS. SECURITY HOLDERS SHOULD READ THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT IS
AVAILABLE BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. INVESTORS CAN GET THE
PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER FILED DOCUMENTS FOR FREE AT THE SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV. FSA WILL ALSO MAKE A COPY OF THE
PROXY STATEMENT AND RELATED DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE TO FSA STOCKHOLDERS, AT NO
EXPENSE TO THEM.