Melbourne, Australia , April 7, 2008 - State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT), the world’s leading provider of financial services to institutional investors, and Oxfam Australia today announced that the 2008 Australian Oxfam Trailwalker event in Melbourne has ‘raised the bar’ for both the physical challenge and donation target.

Now in its tenth year in Australia, Oxfam Trailwalker is considered one of the most difficult team sporting events in the country. The challenge begins in Melbourne on Friday, 11 April, where teams of four will start at Jells Park in Wheelers Hill and finish 100 kms later at Wesburn Park in the Yarra Valley. Over 650 teams have registered for this year’s Melbourne event – making it the largest Trailwalker to date. The vast majority of teams include participants across the Melbourne business community, including financial services, professional services, and corporations. The competitors must walk 100kms through rugged Victorian bush land in under 48 hours.

Early donation estimates set the anticipated amount to be raised at more than A$2.8 million – one of the largest amounts ever raised through an Australian sporting fundraising event. The donations will be used to assist Oxfam in fighting poverty and suffering around the world. The financial services sector continues to be a highly active and engaged contributor to Australian Trailwalker fundraising.

State Street is the principal sponsor of Oxfam Trailwalker around the world, including events in Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Britain and Japan. Mr Chris Field, chairman of State Street’s Australian Philanthropy Committee and veteran of three Sydney Trailwalker events, said he is very impressed with the strong level of involvement and support for the event in Melbourne, and participants’ high levels of commitment to engage in the rigorous 100kms walk.

“ State Street Australia is thrilled to again be the principal sponsor of Oxfam Trailwalker events in Melbourne and Sydney again this year,” said Chris Field, chairman of State Street’s Australian Philanthropy Committee and former Trailwalker participant. “Along with Oxfam, we would like to thank the teams, their support crews and the hundreds of volunteers who help make these events such a success. It is fantastic to see the Australian financial services sector, along with the wider corporate and local community, working together so well to support this very important cause.”

State Street first became principal sponsor for the Trailwalker in Australia in 2003, following several years of a successful partnership supporting Oxfam’s popular Hong Kong Trailwalker event, which attracts up to 4,000 participants. Since the 1977 inception of its worldwide funding body, The State Street Foundation, State Street has made more than 7,250 grants totalling more than A$140 million. State Street employees have participated in close to 3,000 volunteer projects since the launch of the Global Outreach program in 2001. In 2007 alone, approximately 8,200 volunteers worked on more than 1,000 projects.

“We are delighted at the growing awareness of and participation in Oxfam Trailwalker by the Melbourne business and financial community,” said Brett Long, media coordinator for Oxfam Australia. “Their increasing support substantially advances Oxfam Australia’s work in helping people control their own lives, achieve basic rights, and ensure the environment is sustained,” he said.

To date, leading the Melbourne event fundraisers is the “Maridedo” team, which has raised more than A$18,600, followed by AMP Financial Planning’s “Amicus Avengers,” which is also spearheading the financial services effort. Other standouts in financial services include “Hip Vs Hype” (over A$10,300) and “Hastings Hobblers” representing Hastings Funds Management Limited (more than A$7,600).

Oxfam Trailwalker is the ultimate physical endurance challenge involving teams of four walking or running 100 kilometres within 48 hours. Oxfam Trailwalker began in 1981 as a military training exercise in Hong Kong, and has risen over A$76 million to date for communities experiencing poverty around the world. It is held annually in Hong Kong, Britain, Belgium, New Zealand, Japan, Sydney and Melbourne. For more information about Oxfam Trailwalker, please visit: www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/.

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading provider of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With US$15.3 trillion in assets under custody and US$2 trillion in assets under management at December 31, 2007, State Street operates in 26 countries and more than 100 geographic markets worldwide. For more information, visit State Street’s web site at www.statestreet.com.