Operation HOPE and E*TRADE FINANCIAL Partner to Benefit Inner-City Communities in Seven States

Operation HOPE and E*TRADE FINANCIAL Partner to Benefit Inner-City Communities in Seven States

A $2.5 Million Initiative to Provide Financial Literacy Education and Economic Empowerment Programs

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Operation HOPE, Inc. (OHI), the nation's leading provider of financial literacy education and economic empowerment tools and services, today announced a $2.5 million contribution from E*TRADE FINANCIAL to support OHI's Banking on Our Future program and to continue support of the HOPE Center in Washington D.C./Anacostia. This contribution is in addition to E*TRADE FINANCIAL's commitment in 2004 to open the flagship Washington D.C./Anacostia Hope Center bringing the company's total contribution to Operation HOPE to $5.5 million.

"Thanks to the vision and commitment of E*TRADE FINANCIAL's Chief Banking Officer Arlen Gelbard, who serves on our national board of directors, Operation HOPE and E*TRADE FINANCIAL, today announce a public/private collaboration that could change the lives of tens of thousands of Americans," said OHI founder, chairman and chief executive officer, John Bryant. "This is a model partnership for corporate America in the 21st Century."

E*TRADE FINANCIAL will support Operation HOPE by launching OHI's Banking on Our Future program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and by expanding the Banking on Our Future program office in the Washington, D.C. area. In addition, E*TRADE FINANCIAL will provide office facilities, technical support and volunteers for Operation HOPE's HOPE Corps -- the organization's volunteer network. Hope Corps members are active in 11 program offices nationwide, including California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington D.C.

Banking on Our Future, winner of the Oprah's Angel Network award and most recently the U.S. Treasury Department's John Sherman Award for financial literacy excellence, is the only national urban delivery platform for financial literacy in the country. Since its inception, the program has served over 139,000 individuals nationwide.

"E*TRADE FINANCIAL is proud to collaborate with Operation HOPE to strengthen the Banking on Our Future Program," said Arlen Gelbard, Chief Banking Officer, E*TRADE FINANCIAL. "Operation Hope should be commended for its work with economic empowerment in this country. Through this relationship, we hope to expand the reach of financial education."

Operation HOPE and E*TRADE FINANCIAL will also launch a new, interactive website under the www.bankingonourfuture.org umbrella. This site, which E*TRADE FINANCIAL has committed its own technical resources to help develop and maintain, will be publicly unveiled by the end of the first quarter 2005.

Additionally E*TRADE FINANCIAL will support Operation HOPE's matching grant program, which assists low-income, first-time home buyers by providing down payment assistance on a match basis, from the Washington DC-Anacostia HOPE Center, and in the home loan program in Northern and Southern California.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Operation HOPE, Inc. (OHI), is America's first nonprofit social investment bank and a national provider of financial literacy and economic empowerment programs. Through ongoing collaborations and long-term partnerships with leading government, private sector, and community interests, OHI works to bring self-sufficiency and a sustained spirit of revitalization to America's inner-city communities. OHI's HOPE Centers, a growing network of inner-city banking centers, have created more than 800 new homeowners and small business owners, more than $125 million in funded loans, and more than $210 million in commitments for homeownership and small business loans from their 250 bank and corporate partners. OHI's Banking on Our Future program has delivered financial literacy education and related services to more than 139,000 children across the country. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and a network of private and community partners, OHI's HOPE Coalition America has provided free financial counseling and casework services to Americans affected by natural disasters and national emergencies in 125 cities in 35 states to date. Taken together, these programs make Operation HOPE the national leader in economic empowerment tools and services for the under-served in America. OHI and its programs can be found online at www.operationhope.org, www.bankingonourfuture.org, and www.hopecoalitionamerica.org.

About E*TRADE FINANCIAL

The E*TRADE FINANCIAL family of companies provide financial services including brokerage, banking and lending for retail, corporate and institutional customers. Securities products and services are offered by E*TRADE Securities LLC (Member NASD/SIPC). Bank and lending products and services are offered by E*TRADE Bank, a Federal savings bank, Member FDIC, or its subsidiaries.

Operation HOPE Media Contact
Xavier Sibaja
213-891-2900
xavier.sibaja@operationhope.org

E*TRADE FINANCIAL Media Contact
Pam Erickson
617-296-6080
pam.erickson@etrade.com

E*TRADE FINANCIAL Investor Relations Contact
Adam Townsend
703-236-8719
adam.townsend@etrade.com


Source: Operation HOPE, Inc.

CONTACT: media, Xavier Sibaja of Operation HOPE, +1-213-891-2900, or
xavier.sibaja@operationhope.org; or media, Pam Erickson, +1-617-296-6080, or
pam.erickson@etrade.com, or investor, Adam Townsend, +1-703-236-8719, or
adam.townsend@etrade.com, both of E*TRADE FINANCIAL

Web site: http://www.operationhope.org/

Web site: http://www.etrade.com/


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