Chase Branches Reopen after Hurricane Katrina; ATMs replenished to serve South Louisiana residents

BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2005--Chase began reopening its branches in the Baton Rouge area today after power was restored to areas of the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Chase had opened 23 of its 33 Baton Rouge area branches by noon today, said Don Barnes, manager of retail banking for Chase for central and north Louisiana.

"It's important we open as soon as possible after a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina so we can help our customers with all their financial needs," Barnes said. "We will open the remaining 10 branches as soon as power is restored to their neighborhoods."

Barnes said Chase's network of approximately 60 ATMs in the greater Baton Rouge area have been replenished to serve south Louisiana residents.

Chase's 60 branches in the New Orleans area will remain closed until city officials allow residents to return to the city. All other Chase branches in Louisiana remain open business as usual.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.2 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and businesses, financial transaction processing, asset and wealth management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has its corporate headquarters in New York and its U.S. consumer and commercial banking headquarters in Chicago. Under the JPMorgan, Chase and Bank One brands, the firm serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.