I think the Reparations issue for African Americans and other African
Diaspora communities will be very important in the foreseeable future.
MC

January 20, 2005

Recently, JPMorgan Chase completed extensive research examining our
company's history for any links to slavery to meet a commitment to the city
of Chicago. Today, we are reporting that this research found that between
1831 and 1865 two of our predecessor banks - Citizens Bank and Canal Bank in
Louisiana - accepted approximately 13,000 enslaved individuals as collateral
on loans and took ownership of approximately 1,250 of them when the
plantation owners defaulted on the loans.

We all know slavery existed in our country, but it is quite different to see
how our history and the institution of slavery were intertwined. Slavery was
tragically ingrained in American society, but that is no excuse.

We apologize to the American public, and particularly to African-Americans,
for the role that Citizens Bank and Canal Bank played during that period.

Although we cannot change the past, we are committed to learning from and
emerging stronger because of it. Since these events took place in Louisiana,
we are establishing a $5 million college scholarship program for students
living in Louisiana.

Smart Start Louisiana will mirror Smart Start New York, an extremely
successful program we created and operate in New York City. Through this
program, JPMorgan Chase will provide an initial $5 million over five years
for full-tuition, undergraduate scholarships to African-American students
from Louisiana to attend colleges in their home state. Students will be
selected based upon merit and need. In addition to receiving scholarships,
the students will have the opportunity to intern at JPMorgan Chase during
the summer with the goal of being hired upon graduation.

JPMorgan Chase is, of course, a very different company than the Citizens and
Canal Banks of the 1800s. We are committed to creating opportunities for
African-Americans within our own firm, and to supporting communities we
serve through philanthropic programs focused on economic empowerment and
education. For more information, visit the JPMC Today section of this
website.

We also realize you may have questions about these research findings. This
website provides further details about the research, methodology, and
details of findings, including names of the enslaved individuals when
identified, parish information and archival citations for those seeking to
do further research.

Although much of the information is difficult to look at, we hope it will
prove useful to those researching their ancestry, as well as for those
seeking to learn more about this tragic period in our country's history.