NCUA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

J. Owen Cole Jr. Tapped to Lead Office of Strategic Program Support and Planning

April 22, 2003, Alexandria, Va., -- National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Region II Associate Regional Director John Owen Cole Jr. has been named director of the Office of Strategic Program Support and Planning (OSPSP), effective June 24, 2003.

As OSPSP director, Cole is responsible for providing expertise in the areas of investment and portfolio management and strategic planning.

“Owen Cole has demonstrated dedication, initiative, professionalism, team building skills and a willingness to accept new challenges unquestionably qualifying him to assume the duties and responsibilities of director of OSPSP,” NCUA Executive Director J. Leonard Skiles said in announcing the appointment.

Cole was a vice president in the Treasury Division at Riggs National Bank in Washington D.C., before joining NCUA in 1993 as a corporate investment officer in the Office of Examination and Insurance (E&I). He held positions in the Office of Chief Economist and Office of Investment Services before being promoted, in 1998, to director of Risk Management within E&I and vice president/treasurer of the Central Liquidity Facility. Cole was named Region II associate regional director of Operations in May 2002.

Owen Cole holds a B.A. degree in History from McDaniel College and an MBA in Finance and Investments from George Washington University. Additionally, he attended Trinity College of Wales for a year of undergraduate studies.

The National Credit Union Administration, governed by a three-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 80 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.