WASHINGTON–(HISPANIC PR WIRE – BUSINESS WIRE)–September 18, 2002–J.P. Morgan Chase & Co: Underscoring their commitment to diversity, youth, and education, Chase and MasterCard International will again serve as Premier Corporate Sponsors of the 2002 Hispanic Heritage Awards to be presented on Friday, September 20, 2002, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The gala event, now in its 16th year, celebrates Hispanic heritage and honors the most notable achievements by Hispanic Americans. Recipients of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Awards are Ricky Martin (the Arts), Julia Alvarez (Literature), Lisa Quiroz (Leadership), Father Virgilio Elizondo (Education), and Derek Parra (Sports).
This marks the fifth year both Chase and MasterCard have supported the Hispanic Heritage Awards, which will be broadcast October 12, 2002, on NBC television stations in most major markets.
Richard Srednicki, Executive Vice President of Chase’s credit card business, will present the Chase- and MasterCard-sponsored Hispanic Heritage Youth Award for Academic Excellence to national winner Karen Sosa, a recent graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, and current student at Columbia University. Sosa achieved a perfect score on her SATs and has been awarded the National Hispanic Scholar Award, a gold medal in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Olympiada of Spoken Russian, a gold medal in the International Competition for Written Russian, and is a National Merit Scholar, among many other accomplishments.
A panel of business leaders, educators and the Hispanic Heritage Association Foundation selected Sosa from a group of 60 regional award winners. Chase and MasterCard representatives recently honored these recipients in their hometowns. More than 4,000 students across the United States submitted program applications.
“On behalf of Chase and MasterCard, we congratulate all these young men and women, who are excellent role models for their communities,” said Mr. Srednicki, “In light of our shared corporate commitments to youth, diversity and education, we are proud to recognize their accomplishments.”
About Chase
One of Chase’s key initiatives is offering its Hispanic credit card customers the option of being served by bilingual staff and receiving their correspondence in Spanish. Chase recognizes the demand for not just in-language information, but culturally relevant information through BancoChase.com, its Spanish-language web site that offers financial information and advice to Hispanics and features a newly added online Spanish-language credit card application process.
Chase has also developed many specialized programs designed to reach Hispanic small business owners, and over 10 percent of all its SBA-approved loans are made to Hispanic business owners. In 2001, Chase provided $3.8 million in philanthropic grants to Hispanic organizations. Chase also has been honored as an “Employer of Choice” to its diverse workforce.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $741 billion and operations in more than 50 countries. With relationships with over 99% of the Fortune 1000 companies, the firm is a leader in investment banking, asset management, private banking, private equity, custody and transactionservices, and retail and middle market financial services. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase is headquartered in New York and serves more than 30 million consumer customers and the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about JPMorgan Chase is available on the Internet at http://www.jpmorganchase.com.
About MasterCard International
MasterCard International is also pro-actively addressing the needs of the Hispanic community. MasterCard has worked with several organizations including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to provide financial management education to Latinos. Beyond the LULAC initiative, MasterCard also supports the Hispanic College Fund through scholarship donations and summer internships. Additionally, utilizing its award-winning ‘Priceless’ campaign,
MasterCard developed Spanish-language advertising for Univision and Telemundo television networks. MasterCard also continues to promote MasterCard en Espanol (mastercardenespanol.com), the first web site dedicated to the Spanish-language market by a major payment brand in the United States.
MasterCard International has a comprehensive portfolio of well-known, widely accepted payment brands including MasterCard(R), Cirrus(R) and Maestro(R). More than 1.7 billion MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro logos are present on credit, charge and debit cards in circulation today. A corporation with more than 15,000 member financial institutions, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses, both large and small, in 210 countries and territories. MasterCard is a leader in quality and innovation, offering a wide range of payment solutions in the virtual and traditional worlds. MasterCard’s award-winning Priceless(R) advertising campaign is now seen in 90 countries and in 45 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. With more than 28 million acceptance locations, no payment card is more widely accepted globally than MasterCard. For the six months ended June 30, 2002, gross dollar volume exceeded US$534 billion. MasterCard can be reached through its web site at http://www.mastercardinternational.com.
–30–rlg/ny*
CONTACT:
Chase
Catherine Keary, 212/270-717
or
MasterCard
Chris Monteiro, 914/249-5826
