Business Outlook in Houston for 2006 is Optimistic; Mayor White and Two of Houston's Leading CEOs Give Houston's '06 Economic Outlook.

HOUSTON -- Administaff (NYSE:ASF) and IBC-Houston (NASDAQ:IBOC):

Mayor Bill White joined Paul Sarvadi, Chairman and CEO of Administaff, and Jay Rogers, President and CEO of IBC-Houston, this afternoon at City Hall to highlight the Houston business community's 2005 achievements and to share their 2006 economic outlook.

Mayor White opened the news conference by discussing the advancements made at City Hall to improve the business climate in Houston. In spite of the ongoing challenges brought on by the catastrophic hurricanes, for the second year in a row the city's economy has shown progress. Employment figures from October 2004 to October 2005 grew at a rate of 1.8%; this is the fastest rate of growth since 2001 in both total number of new jobs created and percentage.

"We've added more than 40,000 new jobs in Houston since October 2004," said Mayor White. "Over the past year, City Hall has become more efficient and business-friendly and the result is creating more economic development opportunities for Houstonians."

Sarvadi based his comments on the results of Administaff's fourth-quarter Business Confidence Survey coupled with Administaff's year-end employment and compensation data. This analysis provided an optimistic view of the state of business in the small and medium-sized sector going into 2006.

Sarvadi mentioned that more than half of the Houston-area survey respondents indicated their intent to invest more in their businesses in 2006 than they did last year and that most intend to increase both salaries and hiring in the coming year. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents, explained Sarvadi, expect to experience more growth in 2006 than in 2005.

"Based on Administaff's year-end analysis of its Houston client base," said Sarvadi, "average compensation is up by 5.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004, and average commissions have increased by 9.6 percent. In addition, overtime pay is running at 15.7 percent of regular pay, which is a clear indication that companies are reaching capacity limitations. Consequently, it makes business sense for them to hire more employees."

Sarvadi added, "The increase in commissions also provides a forward look into new business pipelines, and based on the numbers, the outlook is positive."

For insight about how Houston compares with the rest of the country, Sarvadi provided the following data from Administaff's national client base of more than 4,900 small and medium-sized companies. When comparing the fourth quarter of 2005 to the same period in 2004, average compensation is up by 5.8 percent, average commissions have increased by 7.6 percent, and overtime pay is running at 9.8 percent of regular pay.

Rogers expects to see continued growth of small businesses in 2006. According to his informal survey of small business growth patterns and loans, he estimates that loan production is up approximately 30 percent over last year, with loans doubling from 2003 to 2005. Rogers stated this "explosive growth" in small businesses has lead to increased staffs at banks throughout the city to handle the demand.

According to Rogers this growth is due in part to reductions in individual tax rates and business-related tax cuts that involve an increase in the small business expensing election limit. An additional factor for this growth is an increase in the allowable bonus depreciation percentage, giving a business the ability to deduct most types of capital expenditures up to $100,000 for the years 2003 to 2005.

"Many factors contribute to an entrepreneur's decision to make the plunge into small business ownership," Rogers said. "Houston is seeing more small businesses that are qualifying for loans and are becoming profitable quicker. A good indication of this is seen in the number of new banks moving into our area from out-of-state markets."

Houston-based Administaff (NYSE:ASF) is the nation's leading professional employer organization, serving as a full-service human resources department for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses throughout the United States. The company's Personnel Management System(SM) provides a comprehensive human resources solution that includes employer liability management, government compliance, benefits management, employment administration, recruiting and selection, performance management, training and development, and business services. For additional information, visit http://www.administaff.com.

IBC-Houston is a member of International Bancshares Corporation (NASDAQ:IBOC), a $10.3 billion financial holding company headquartered in Laredo, Texas with more than 200 facilities and 300 ATMs serving more than 80 communities in Texas and Oklahoma.