PR Newswire's managing director of investor relations services, Mark Hynes, has been asked to join the Committee of European Securities Regulators' (CESR) Consultative Working Group on the Transparency Directive -- Storage of Regulated Information, it was announced today.

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As part of CESR's Consultative Working Group, Hynes will work with other notable members including representatives from the German, Greek, Luxembourg and Italian stock exchanges and representatives from organizations such as XBRL International, to create the framework for a repository of public company news and information similar to the Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR database in the United States.

"This is an extremely important time in European regulatory history," said Hynes. "With the recent implementation of the Transparency Obligations Directive, the move to creating a pan-European disclosure system is becoming a reality. The next step is to create a database or repository where investors and the public can access important material information on public companies throughout Europe. That is the goal of this working group and I am very honoured to be a part of it."

"Mark has played an instrumental role with CESR in helping to shape disclosure throughout Europe," said Charles Gregson, chief executive officer of PR Newswire. "His efforts, and those of his colleagues on these committees, are changing the landscape for the better by making information on European public companies more readily available to the financial community, the media and the general public worldwide. This increased transparency will have significant benefits for the global capital markets and PR Newswire is pleased to support this important initiative."

Mark Hynes has 25 years experience in the financial news and information sector. As managing director of Investor Relations at PR Newswire, Hynes is responsible for developing regulatory disclosure solutions and strategies to assist PR Newswire's customers.

Hynes is also a member of the Committee of European Securities Regulators Working Group on the Transparency Directive, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Investor Relations Society.

PR Newswire pioneered the immediate, simultaneous electronic distribution of full text news releases to news media in 1954. Today, operating around the clock, 7 days a week, PR Newswire accurately, quickly and cost-effectively transmits information received directly from the issuers of that information to thousands of print, broadcast, wire and online news media, the investment community and individual investors around the world.

PR Newswire is recognized as an established, secure means for listed companies to meet disclosure regulations in the United States and the United Kingdom, and provides news distribution services for companies throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The company also plays a critical role in educating the corporate, investor and regulatory communities around the world on issues of disclosure and transparency.

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Contact: Rachel Meranus, Director of Public Relations, PR Newswire, +1 212 282 1929 or rachel.meranus@prnewswire.com.