Dallas Leadership Banking Partnership Formed in Support of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.

Business Editors

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2002

The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation today announced the formation of the Dallas Leadership Banking Partnership, an alliance of seven Dallas-area banks working in concert with the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation.

Elaine Agather, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J.P. Morgan Chase, Dallas Region and a member of the Foundation's Board of Directors, led the creation of the Partnership, which has pledged $1.2 million to the Foundation with a portion of the funds also supporting The Dallas Opera and the Dallas Theater Center.

The purpose of establishing the Dallas Leadership Banking Partnership is to provide a creative means of funding the design and construction of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and to financially support The Dallas Opera and the Dallas Theater Center during the next five years as they prepare for their transition to the Center. The banks of the Partnership include Bank One, Bank of Texas, N.A., Compass Bank, Frost Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Northern Trust Bank of Texas and Washington Mutual.

Elaine Agather, a longtime supporter of the arts, is credited with envisioning the Dallas Leadership Banking Partnership. "Dallas' financial institutions have always stepped forward to lead and support our city's civic and cultural projects. Through the Leadership Banking Partnership, our organizations have the opportunity to work together to help make possible one of Dallas' most important institutions," Agather said. "The arts play a vital role in the life of any city. The arts enhance our quality of life and inspire us to think, to imagine and to dream. The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will be an extraordinary institution in which to promote the arts in Dallas."

The Dallas Leadership Banking Partnership is the first alliance of Dallas banks since the Banking Clearinghouse of the 1980's. The Partnership creates the means for banks doing business in Dallas, regardless of their size and assets, to participate in a meaningful way in the campaign to build the Center. At a time when many financial institutions are attaining national profiles, the Partnership offers a way to retain strong local ties. Their contribution will be recognized in the new Center following its construction, which is scheduled to open in late 2007 or early 2008.

Anthony Manisco, Senior Vice President and Group Manager with Washington Mutual, says he is excited to be a part of the Partnership. "We've been looking for a way to become more involved in the cultural side of the City of Dallas," says Mr. Manisco. "We are excited to be involved in the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts from the ground level, because this is a project that will have an impact on the City of Dallas and the region for years to come."

"The formation of the Partnership and the impact it will have on the creation of the Center and the support of its two major stakeholders symbolizes the working relationship between business and the arts in Dallas," said Harvey R. Mitchell, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation. "The Center's cultural and economic impact on Dallas and the region will be significant."

About the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation: Organized in September 2000, the Foundation's mission is to complete planning and raise funds to design and construct the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. The campaign is the largest of its kind in Dallas history, with current total gifts and pledges now at $122 million. The campaign's goal is to raise $210 million in the private sector with additional funds to be provided by the City of Dallas through a bond election to be scheduled in 2003. The Center will provide new performance space for The Dallas Opera, the Dallas Theater Center, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Fort Worth Dallas Ballet and many of the other performing arts organizations that serve Dallas and the surrounding area.