JPMorgan Chase Wins 8 Deal of the Year Awards

JPMorgan Chase Treasury Services’ Global Trade Services unit today announced that it has won a total of eight award citations from The Asset, Finance Asia, Global Trade Review, Trade Finance, and Trade & Forfaiting Review for structured finance solutions arranged in 2006 for the Aban Group, an Indian offshore oil and gas drilling company, and Bank Petrocommerce, a Russian bank working with the Uzbek government. Both transactions provided financing facilitating vital energy initiatives in India and Uzbekistan. The Aban Group worked with JPMorgan Chase and the Indian Overseas Bank to finance the purchase of an oil rig from PPL Shipyard of Singapore. Bank Petrocommerce worked with the U.S. Ex-Im Bank, U.S.-based exporter BSI Industries, and the Uzbek government to finance equipment that will modernize the country’s gas fields and help make Uzbekistan a market leading producer. Although highly complex and dependent on the teamwork of many interested parties, both deals were completed in a relatively short time and owed much of their success to JPMorgan Chase’s ability to understand the clients’ needs and demonstrate deep knowledge of the region and the marketplace. In the case of Aban Group, JPMorgan Chase provided a deal structure in which Aban was able to establish a loan on its books when the oil rig was delivered and rental agreements were in place. "The solution was unique but replicable,” said Craig Weeks, senior vice president and head of JPMorgan Chase’s Global Trade Sales unit. "It highlights the strength of JPMorgan Chase’s network trade concept, in which we leverage information exchanged between banks in our global correspondent network to facilitate trade flow risk mitigation and financing solutions.” With the Bank Petrocommerce deal, modernization of the gas gathering system was essential to making Uzbekistan a market-winning gas producer and positioning the country to benefit from future upsurges in production, says Weeks. "Working with Petrocommerce, JPMorgan Chase's U.S. exporting customer BSI Industries, and the Uzbek entity and government, we were able to introduce a U.S. Ex-Im program structure that allowed key imports of infrastructure equipment critical to the realization of Uzbekistan's energy strategy.” JPMorgan Chase has consistently won Deal of the Year awards from leading Trade and Treasury publications, and has also been named Best Trade Bank, Best Trade Services Provider, and Most Innovative Trade Bank by TMI, Trade & Forfaiting Review, and Global Trade Review respectively in 2006. About JPMorgan Chase Treasury Services The Treasury Services business of JPMorgan Chase is a top-ranked, full-service provider of innovative payment, collection, liquidity and investment management, trade finance, commercial card and information solutions to corporations, financial services institutions, middle market companies, small businesses, governments and municipalities worldwide. With more than 50,000 clients and a presence in 36 countries, JPMorgan Chase Treasury Services is the world’s largest provider of treasury management services. More information can be found at www.jpmorganchase.com/ts. About JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.4 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset and wealth management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its JPMorgan and Chase brands. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.