JPMorgan Chase, Sallie Mae student loans Agree to End Joint Venture; Chase student loans Regains Control of Student Lending Business

CHICAGO, March 22, 2005 - JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NSYE: JPM) announced today that it has reached agreement with Sallie Mae student loans to end their student-lending joint venture, giving Chase student loans sole control of its student lending business.

Chase and Sallie Mae will extend their student loan origination and student loan servicing agreement through August, 2010 for schools, universities, or colleges that want to continue to use the Sallie Mae platform for Chase or Bank One student loans. In addition, Chase and Bank One will be required to sell new borrower loans to Sallie Mae if they are originated or serviced through Sallie Mae.

JPMorgan Chase, which merged with Bank One in 2004, will discontinue the suit it filed last month to dissolve the joint venture with Sallie Mae student loans.

Effective immediately, the Bank One Education Finance sales force will now market both Chase and Bank One-branded student loans using six of the country's most popular origination/servicing platforms: ACS, AES, Ed Financial, Great Lakes, Nelnet and Sallie Mae student loan, as well as other regional secondary market platforms.

"This agreement allows us to provide even greater flexibility and choice to schools, universities, community colleges or colleges and their students by providing the products and services they find most desirable to finance higher education," said Scott Powell, chief executive of auto and student loans for Chase. "This also gives us control over this very important business and creates a strong platform for growth."

In 2004, JPMorgan Chase was the largest originator of FFELP student loans, originating more than $6.4 billion under the Chase and Bank One brands.

Sallie Mae SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae student loans, is the nation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The Sallie Mae manages $160 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10 million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the company Sallie Mae also manages $19 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and 8 million members have joined Upromise to help save for college with rewards on purchases at nearly 70,000 places. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at www.Sallie Mae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. 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, J.P. Morgan 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 on the Internet at www.jpmorganchase.com.

Student Loan Industry Press Releases & News Stories:

As you determine the best way to finance your college education, you should consider the full range of student financial aid options available. Private student loans, like the Chase Private Student Loan, can be used either alone or when federa loans, grants and other forms of student financial aid are not sufficient to cover the full cost of higher education.

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