Banc One Investment Advisors Confirms Mutual Funds Settlement Agreements

Banc One Investment Advisors Confirms Mutual Funds Settlement
Agreements 


CHICAGO, June 29  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Banc One Investment Advisors today
confirmed it has entered into settlement agreements with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) and the New York Attorney General's office over
certain issues related to trading in One Group mutual funds.

  These agreements provide for the following key provisions:
   -- Banc One Investment Advisors agrees to pay $10 million in total
      disgorgement and restitution and $40 million as a penalty, under both
      the SEC and Attorney General's agreements.  The entire $50 million
      will be placed into an escrow account to be distributed to eligible
      shareholders through a plan to be created by an independent consultant
      and approved by the SEC and the independent One Group Board of
      Trustees. Payment will likely occur in 2005.

   -- Banc One Investment Advisors will reduce advisory fees by $8 million
      per year for five years and agree not to raise advisory fees for five
      years, under the Attorney General's agreement.



"Soon after we first learned of these investigations, we committed to cooperate
with regulators, make restitution to shareholders, and review and change our
policies, as appropriate," said David J. Kundert, Chairman and CEO of Banc One
Investment Advisors. "The monetary and governance actions outlined in these
agreements build upon the controls and policies we initiated last fall to
fulfill that commitment.  Strong procedures are now in place to further protect
the interests of our mutual fund shareholders and prevent a recurrence of
similar issues in the future."

Banc One Investment Advisors is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Bank One
Corporation ( http://www.bankone.com/ ), the nation's sixth-largest bank
holding company, with assets of $320 billion.  Bank One currently has more than
51 million credit cards issued, nearly 7 million retail households, and
approximately 20,000 middle market customers.  It also manages $188 billion of
clients' investment assets. 

DATASOURCE: Bank One Corporation



CONTACT:  Thomas Kelly, [phone], or Julie Crothers,

[phone], both of Banc One



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

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