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    CHICAGO and FREDERICKSBURG, Va., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (NYSE:   JPM) has signed a definitive agreement to
 purchase Collegiate Funding Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:   CFSI), a leader in student
 loan servicing and consolidation, to create a comprehensive education finance
 business, the companies announced today.
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051215/NYTH056LOGO
             http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050714/DCTH039LOGO )
     Chase will pay $20 per share in cash, for total consideration of
 approximately $663 million, for Collegiate Funding Services.
     In 2004, Chase Education Finance originated $7.9 billion and Collegiate
 Funding Services originated $4.4 billion in student loans, including Federal
 Family Education Loan Program and private loans.  Collegiate Funding Services
 serviced approximately $12.1 billion in loans as of September 30, 2005.
     "Collegiate Funding Services' marketing, origination and servicing
 capabilities will complement our sales and marketing expertise," said Brad L.
 Conner, executive vice president of Chase. "Together, we will be a major
 provider of every type of student loan as we help students and their parents
 achieve their educational goals. Both Chase and CFS schools should expect
 continued excellence from the combined business."
     Upon completion of the transaction, J. Barry Morrow, president and chief
 executive officer of Collegiate Funding Services, will become president of the
 combined Chase Education Finance business.  He will report to Conner, who has
 responsibility for home equity and education lending at Chase.
     "This combination is a great opportunity for CFS and our customers,
 employees and shareholders," Morrow said. "We will be joining forces with a
 powerful brand and a recognized leader in financial services, and CFS
 employees will play a key role in the combined business."
     The combined business will be headquartered in Fredericksburg, Va., the
 current home of Collegiate Funding Services, and will maintain other sites,
 including Jackson, Miss.; Indianapolis, Tampa and Boston.
     The companies expect the purchase, which is subject to CFS shareholder and
 regulatory approval, to close in the first quarter of 2006.  The Lightyear
 Fund, L.P., which is the largest shareholder of CFS, has agreed to vote its
 shares in favor of the transaction.
 
     About Chase
     Chase, the U.S. consumer and commercial banking brand of JPMorgan Chase &
 Co., has issued approximately 98 million credit cards and serves consumers and
 small businesses through more than 2,500 bank branches, 7,100 ATMs and
 225 mortgage offices as well as through relationships with over 15,000 auto
 dealerships, 2,500 schools and universities and 2,100 insurance agencies.
 JPMorgan Chase is a leading global financial services firm with assets of
 $1.2 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. The firm is a leader
 in investment banking, financial services for consumers and businesses,
 financial transaction processing, asset and wealth management, and private
 equity. Under the JPMorgan, Chase and Bank One brands, the firm serves
 millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most
 prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about
 the firm is available at http://www.jpmorganchase.com.
 
     About Collegiate Funding Services
     Collegiate Funding Services is a leading education finance company
 dedicated to providing students and their families with the practical advice
 and loan solutions they need to help manage and pay for the cost of higher
 education.  Collegiate Funding Services also offers a comprehensive portfolio
 of education loan products and services - including loan origination, loan
 servicing and campus-based scholarship and affinity marketing tools - to the
 higher education community.  As of September 30, 2005, Collegiate Funding
 Services had facilitated the origination of more than $21 billion in education
 loans and was servicing $12 billion in student loans for more than 476,000
 borrowers.  For additional information, visit http://www.cfsloans.com or call
 1-888-423-7562.
 
     Forward-Looking Statements
     Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts
 are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
 Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These "forward-looking statements" may
 include, but are not limited to, analyses, and other information contained
 herein relating to the proposed merger and anticipated synergies, savings and
 financial and operating performance, including estimates for growth, trends in
 each of the operations and financial results, the markets for products, the
 future development of business, and the contingencies and uncertainties of
 JPMorgan Chase and Collegiate Funding Services to which JPMorgan Chase and
 Collegiate Funding Services, respectively, may be subject, as well as other
 statements including words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan,"
 "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," and other similar
 expressions.  Such statements are made based upon management's current
 expectations and beliefs concerning future events and their potential effects
 on the company.
     Future events and their effects on JPMorgan Chase and Collegiate Funding
 Services may not be those anticipated by management.  Actual results may
 differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking
 statements.  For a discussion of factors that could cause or contribute to
 such material differences, investors are directed to the risks and
 uncertainties discussed in JPMorgan Chase's most recent Annual Report on Form
 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and Collegiate Funding Services'
 most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004
 and JPMorgan Chase's and Collegiate Funding Services' quarterly reports on
 Form 10-Q and other documents filed by JPMorgan Chase and Collegiate Funding
 Services with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").  These risks and
 uncertainties include, without limitation, the following: the ability to
 promptly and effectively integrate the businesses of JPMorgan Chase and
 Collegiate Funding Services; the reaction of JPMorgan Chase's and Collegiate
 Funding Services' clients to the merger and the ability to retain those
 clients; the ability to retain key personnel; potential client conflicts; the
 ability to achieve the anticipated strategic benefits of the proposed merger;
 the diversion of management time on merger-related issues; the performance of
 financial markets and interest rates; competitive and business factors; new
 Department of Education, tax or other government regulations; changes in the
 demand for educational financing or in financing preferences of educational
 institutions, students and their families; changes in the credit quality or
 performance of the loans that CFS purchases, retains or securitizes; changes
 in interest rates and in the securitization or secondary markets for education
 loans; the failure to obtain shareholder or regulatory approval for the
 merger, or adverse regulatory conditions imposed in connection with
 governmental approvals of the merger; and changes in general economic
 conditions.
     Neither JPMorgan Chase nor Collegiate Funding Services undertakes, and
 each specifically disclaims, any obligation to update or revise any forward-
 looking information, whether as a result of new information, future
 developments or otherwise.
 
     Important Legal Information
     In connection with the proposed merger, Collegiate Funding Services will
 file a proxy statement with the SEC.  Before making any voting decision,
 Collegiate Funding Services' stockholders and investors are urged to read the
 proxy statement regarding the merger and any other relevant documents
 carefully in their entirety when they become available because they will
 contain important information about the proposed merger.   The proxy statement
 and other documents will be available free of charge at the SEC's Web site,
 http://www.sec.gov.  Stockholders and investors in Collegiate Funding Services
 will also be able to obtain the proxy statement and other documents free of
 charge by directing their requests to Collegiate Funding Services, Office of
 the Corporate Secretary, 1-800-762-6441, ext. 5329.
     Collegiate Funding Services and its directors, executive officers and
 other members of its management and employees may be deemed to be participants
 in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed merger.
 Information regarding Collegiate Funding Services' directors and executive
 officers is available in Collegiate Funding Services' proxy statements and
 Annual Report on Form 10-K, previously filed with the SEC.  Additional
 information regarding the interests of such potential participants will be
 included in the proxy statement and the other relevant documents filed with
 the SEC when they become available.
 
 

SOURCE  JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.; Collegiate Funding Services, Inc.