Chase Donates $38,500 Grant to George Washington University to Support Research for Successful Debt Management Plans

Grant is the Second Donation Made by Chase to a Two-Part Study, Titled “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Credit Counseling”

WILMINGTON, Del. – Building on its commitment to promote financial literacy, Chase Card Services, the credit card division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), today is awarding a $38,500 grant to The George Washington University School of Business at an event on campus. The grant supports a study with the university’s Financial Services Research Program which is aimed at determining the factors that contribute to making a debt management plan successful.

Chase will present the grant during an event and media photo opportunity held at 10:30 a.m. today at The GW School of Business in Washington, D.C. Dean Susan M. Phillips, Dean of the School of Business and professor of finance, and Dr. Michael Staten, director of the Financial Services Research Program at George Washington University and who is leading the study, will be in attendance. Chris Kohl, operations manager for Chase Card Services, will present the grant on behalf of Chase Card Services.

The $38,500 grant is part of an overall $3.9 million Chase is donating over three years to multiple organizations across the United States through its new Financial Literacy Grant Program. The Financial Literacy Grant Program, in its second year, is part of Chase’s multi-million dollar commitment to support financial literacy initiatives for people of all ages. The grants will be donated to more than 30 organizations, including credit counseling agencies, consumer financial research groups, such as George Washington University’s program, and a prominent industry trade association.

The current study is the second phase of a two-part study, titled “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Credit Counseling.” The two-part study is a multi-sponsored project and focuses on determining the factors that contribute to the success of debt management plans. In 2005, Chase helped fund the first phase of the study with a grant of $56,500. The results of phase one were published on May 31, 2006 by Dr. Staten.

Phase one, titled “The Impact of Delivery Channels for Credit Counseling Services,” developed several objective measures of counseling effectiveness and used them to determine whether effectiveness is influenced by delivery method (in-person counseling vs. telephone counseling). The study found that the delivery channel for the initial counseling session appears to have little impact on two indicators of the client’s creditworthiness measured two years after the initial counseling.

“Support from major funders like Chase is key to helping our department determine how financial literacy programs can be most effective in helping those in need,” said Dr. Michael Staten, director of the Financial Services Research Program.

“Chase has made a multi-million dollar commitment to help consumers with financial planning and education,” said Jeff Courtney, senior vice president, customer support division, Chase Card Services. “By funding the study with the Financial Services Research Program at the GW School of Business, we hope to help make a long-term positive impact on the quality of financial literacy programs that consumers receive.”

Additional information about Chase and its financial literacy resources can be found at www.chase.com.

The Financial Services Research Program at The George Washington University School of Business The Financial Services Research Program (FSRP) was established to study the economic and social issues surrounding consumer access to credit and other retail financial services. The FSRP conducts research, organizes conferences and seminars, prepares analysis for federal and state regulatory agencies and legislative committees, and collaborates with academic researchers globally to design and conduct new projects related to credit usage. Senior research staff lecture extensively to both U.S. and global audiences on topics such as credit reporting, credit scoring, the impact of interest rate ceilings on credit availability, fair-lending regulations, credit counseling, college student credit card usage, and personal bankruptcy.