KIM DAVIS, JPMorgan Chase Director of Corporate Social Responsibility

Yes. In fact, we never stopped lending. JPMorgan Chase has maintained a strong balance sheet even during this tough economy, which has allowed us to continue providing credit to consumers and businesses without interruption. During the first quarter of 2009, JPMorgan Chase has provided $150 billion in new credit to an estimated 4.5 million consumers (through credit cards, mortgages, auto and student loans), and to small and mid-sized businesses and large corporations.

JPMorgan Chase has always been committed to lending responsibly. Before we provide a loan to a consumer or business we want to ensure that the borrower will be able to pay it back. This is prudent lending. For qualified consumer and business borrowers, getting a loan from JPMorgan Chase remains as possible as ever.

The results of the Treasury Department's unprecedented review of the financial stability of the nation's 19 largest banks should provide reassurance to all stakeholders as to the ability of the U.S. banking system to withstand the economic downturn. The "stress test" results also validate the fact that the federal govenment's actions over the past year to strengthen the financial system are working. The "stress test" results were very positive for our company, determining that JPMorgan Chase's capital position would remain strong under far more highly stressed conditions than exist today, and that there is no need for the company to raise additional capital at this time. Our existing strong capital base and loan-loss reserves, together with our significant pretax, pre-provision earnings power, will enable us to weather the adverse conditions envisioned by the test, while still maintaining very strong capital ratios, even when excluding TARP preferred stock. JPMorgan Chase has worked hard to maintain its Fortress Balance Sheet and strong capital position in this challenging environment. Importantly, JPMorgan Chase believes that it could handle a substantially worse environment than the government's adverse conditions, even though JPMorgan Chase is not expecting such a scenario. We are committed to supporting healthy economic growth and to doing our part to help our country through these tough times. In particular, we remain committed to safe and sound lending and to being a responsible corporate citizen. In the first quarter of this year alone, JPMorgan Chase lent more than $150 billion to consumers, small businesses, non-profits, municipalities, corporations and others.

At JPMorgan Chase, we understand that these difficult economic times have created challenges for homeowners. We also know that our entire economy is best served when more homeowners can stay in their homes, rather than face foreclosure. That is why since last year we have had in place a program for borrowers whose mortgages are serviced by JPMorgan Chase that helps reduce payments to an affordable level. That is also why we have established 24 Homeowner Centers in cities across the country where mortgage holders can come and receive hands-on help from experts (click here for information on a Homeowner Center in your community). The centers are part of a larger program in which we have lowered payments for well over 80% of the mortgages we modified for borrowers who were behind on Chase-owned loans in the last few months. In the first quarter of 2009, JPMorgan Chase. continued to make progress on its Foreclosure Prevention program, preventing an additional 70,000 foreclosures. This brought total foreclosures prevented to 150,000 since announcement of the program in October 2008. Since early 2007, Chase has helped prevent 330,000 foreclosures, primarily by modifying loan terms. Through our own initiatives and by participating in the Obama administration programs, Chase expects to help a total of more than 650,000 families by modifying more than $110 billion of home loans.

At JPMorgan Chase, we recognize that during an economic downturn even responsible borrowers may find themselves struggling with credit payments. Our goal is to ensure that we are working with our customers to put in place solutions that allow them to pay off their bills as quickly as possible and in a manner that protects their financial situation. That is why we have expanded our use of flexible payment programs to help those customers experiencing financial distress: In 2008, we saw 600,000 new enrollments in flexible payment programs, and we anticipate and are prepared for that number to increase.

The U.S. government asked JPMorgan Chase to participate in the TARP program because it was the right thing for the American financial system- not because our bank had any need for capital to maintain solvency. JPMorgan Chase's balance sheet has always been strong, even during these difficult economic times. The decision to participate in TARP was based on our commitment to working with the Treasury Department to support the entire banking system and the economy as whole. Toward that end, it was seen as critical that all major banks participate in TARP in order to inject additional liquidity into the credit markets and to ensure that no bank would reject TARP funds out of fear of a stigma that might cause investors to lose confidence in that bank.

On June 17th, JPMorgan Chase repaid in full the $25 billion preferred stock investment we accepted under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). It is a testament to our firm's strength and stability that JPMorgan Chase was able to repay American taxpayers, and to be included in the first group of institutions granted permission to repay TARP.

There is still a great deal of work ahead for our bank, for the financial industry, and for our country. The repayment of TARP only heightens the sense of responsibility that we all share. JPMorgan Chase remains committed to safe and sound lending; serving our clients and shareholders; helping consumers through mortgage modifications and other programs; supporting charitable giving and community involvement; and managing our company and its assets in a responsible way. Going forward, JPMorgan Chase plans to build on these efforts - continuing to provide credit and liquidity to consumers, companies, communities and non-profits around the world, while maintaining its responsible business practices. It is precisely this longstanding dedication to responsible banking that put us in position to repay TARP in full. And this same commitment is going to continue to guide us as we seek to do our part to build a stronger financial system.