ADVISORY/FDIC, U.S. Treasury, DC Mayor's Office, Local Bankers, Operation HOPE, Inc., Unite to Teach Inner-City Kids the ABCs of Managing Money.

Business Editors/Calendar Editors

ADVISORY...for Thursday (Dec. 11)

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2003

"Banking On Our Future" in Washington DC!

Banking Class at Francis Junior High School Empowers

Young People with the Skills to Manage Their Financial Futures

FDIC Chairman Donald Powell and Brian Roseboro, Acting Undersecretary for Domestic Finance for the U.S. Department of Treasury, join Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO, John Bryant and high-ranking executives from some of the largest banks in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for the grand finale of the 2003 "Banking on Our Future" Across America initiative, an eleven-city nationwide tour that brings celebrities, bankers and elected officials into the classroom to teach students the importance of basic financial literacy and money management.

When:         Thursday, December 11, 2003
              9:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
              Pep-rally for economic literacy with Francis Junior High
              School students and their teachers.  Welcome and
              presentation by John Bryant.  Remarks by Chairman
              Powell, Acting Undersecretary Roseboro, and a student of
              Francis Junior High School.

              10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
              John Bryant, Chairman Powell, and other VIP
              banker-teacher volunteers teach classroom sessions on
              "The Basics of Banking."

Where:        Francis Junior High School
              2425 N Street, NW Washington, DC  20037

Photo or interview opportunities include:

-- Middle School students at pep-rally, in classroom-sessions on

financial literacy

-- Donald Powell, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

-- Brian Roseboro, Acting Undersecretary for Domestic Finance,

U.S. Department of Treasury

-- Carolyn Graham, Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, & Families,

District of Columbia

-- Albert Elder, Commissioner, District of Columbia Department of

Financial Institutions

-- Tony T. Brown, Director, CDFI FUND, U.S. Department of

Treasury

-- B. Doyle Mitchell, President and CEO, Industrial Bank of

Washington, NA

-- Thomas Batties, President and CEO of Independence Federal

Savings Bank

-- Camden Fine, President and CEO, Independent Community Bankers

of America

-- Diane Casey-Landry, President and CEO, America's Community

Bankers

-- And high-ranking executives and representatives from Shorebank

Advisory Services, ABA Education Foundation, Manatt Phelps &

Phillips, LLP, and E* Trade.

Operation HOPE, Inc., is a national non-profit financial self-help organization and a leading provider of economic empowerment tools and services for the under-served in America. Banking On Our Future (BOOF) is an economic literacy initiative established in 1996 to teach children the basics of managing their financial futures and surviving in a global economy. The 2003 "Banking On Our Future Across America" initiative will reach over 18,000 students and bring the total number of children who have received the BOOF instruction to more than 125,000. Using a growing network of trained volunteer Banker-Teachers, BOOF teaches four core modules: the basics of banking, how to open and maintain a checking and savings account, the power of credit, and basic investments.