January 6, 2003

CONTACTS:	Peggy Speck FRBSF	(415) 974-3415
	Candace Hunter-Wiest Inland Empire National Bank	(909) 788-2265
	Jennifer Cranton Preston Gates & Ellis LLP	(206) 270-4658

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO NAMES NEW DIRECTORS TO BOARD

San Francisco - Southern California banker Candace Hunter-Wiest and Seattle attorney David K.Y. Tang were elected to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for three-year terms beginning January 1, 2003. In their role as directors, Hunter-Wiest and Tang will provide the Federal Reserve System with important economic information for their respective industries and regions in the District's nine-state economy.

Ms. Hunter-Wiest is president and chief operating officer of Inland Empire National Bank (IENB), Riverside's local business bank. The bank has approximately $85,000,000 in assets and three branches—two in Riverside and one in Fallbrook. Hunter-Wiest was appointed president in June 1993 and has been with the bank since 1988, previously serving as a lender, branch manager, and the bank's credit administrator. She has been a community banker for twenty years, specializing in construction lending and special assets. Prior to her career in banking, she was employed in the commercial insurance industry, specializing in bonding. Under her leadership, IENB moved to the top 4% of its national peer group in profitability and was recognized by Bauer Financial Inc. as one of the best banks in the country. Among her professional and civic affiliations, Ms. Hunter-Wiest is trustee of the University of California Riverside Foundation, treasurer and finance committee chair of the Greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the A. Gary Anderson School of Management Advisory Board. In 2002 the National Republican Congressional Committee honored her with the Businessman of the Year Award for California. She also received the Duke Financial Group Award, presented to Bank Presidents who best exemplify the core values of the company. Inland Empire National Bank was listed in the Business Press' "Top Companies to Work For" in the Inland Empire small employer category.

Mr. Tang is a partner with Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP, a full-service law firm with nearly 400-attorneys in nine locations worldwide. Preston Gates provides clients with legal counsel and representation for business transactions, litigation, intellectual property, and technology, as well as governmental and public policy work. Mr. Tang was admitted to the Bar of Washington State in 1979 and passed the qualification examination in Hong Kong in 2000. He started practicing with the predecessor law firm to Preston Gates & Ellis LLP in 1979 and became a partner in 1985. He was managing partner of the law firm from 1995-1999. Among his numerous professional and civic affiliations, Mr. Tang is the current chairman of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, and sits on the Boards of the American Bar Foundation, the National Committee on US-China Relations, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Mr. Tang's practice includes representing institutional and foreign investors in commercial transactions and in acquiring, developing, financing, and operating projects in the U.S. and foreign markets. He is a much sought after speaker, and has published numerous articles including Foreign Investors as Joint Venture Partners and Real Estate Lawyers in Cyberspace. Mr. Tang graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and also attended the Hague Academy of International Law in the Netherlands. He has a J.D. from Columbia University and a Certificate with Honors from the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law in New York.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco provides wholesale banking services to financial institutions in the nine western states through the head office in San Francisco and branch offices at Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates monetary policy, serves as a bank regulator, administers consumer protection laws, and is fiscal agent for the U.S. government.