December 6, 2004

George Scalise Named Chairman and David Tang Named Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

San Francisco, December 6, 2004 – The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington D.C. has re-designated George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association in San Jose, as chairman of the board and has appointed David Tang, partner with law firm Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, as a Class C director and as deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco beginning January 2005.

In their roles as chairman and deputy chairman, Scalise and Tang will share responsibility with seven other directors for overseeing the management of the Reserve Bank. Directors also recommend changes in the Reserve Bank’s discount rate and participate in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy through their observations on economic conditions provided to the Bank’s president.

Mr. Scalise is president of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), a trade association representing the U.S. microchip industry since 1977. SIA member companies comprise more than 85% of the U.S. semiconductor industry and employ a domestic workforce of 255,000 people. Mr. Scalise came to the SIA from Apple Computer, where he served as executive vice president of operations. Prior to that, he held executive management positions with National Semiconductor, Maxtor Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Fairchild Semiconductor, and Motorola Semiconductor. A graduate of Purdue University in mechanical engineering, Mr. Scalise is a respected technology industry spokesperson and carries a special interest and expertise in international trade and competition issues. He is a founding member of the Semiconductor Research Corporation, an industry-funded organization that provides resources for pre-competitive research at American universities. Mr. Scalise serves on President Bush’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, as well as a number of industry boards, including Cadence Design Systems and iSuppli Corporation.

Mr. Tang is a partner with Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 430 attorneys in 11 locations on the West Coast, in Washington, D.C. and in Asia. His practice focuses on investment and financing projects and international transactions. Mr. Tang joined Preston Gates in 1979 and served as the firm’s managing partner from 1995-1999, guiding the firm’s strategic planning and operations as the first Asian American managing partner of a large U.S. law firm. He is currently focused on supporting the growth of Preston Gates’ practice in Greater China. Among his professional and civic affiliations, Mr. Tang is the current chairman of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and sits on the boards of the American Bar Foundation, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, National Bureau of Asian Research, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Mr. Tang was admitted to the Bar of Washington state in 1979 and passed the qualification examination in Hong Kong in 2000. He holds a juris doctorate degree from Columbia University and a Certificate with Honors from the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law in New York. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and also attended the Hague Academy of International Law in the Netherlands.

Mr. Scalise first joined the San Francisco Board in 2000 and Mr. Tang in 2002. As deputy chair, Mr. Tang will succeed Dr. Sheila Harris, director of Arizona’s Department of Housing, whose term expires at the end of 2004. Under the Federal Reserve policy of rotation, Reserve Bank directors may serve two three-year terms. Each of the nation’s 12 Federal Reserve Banks has a nine-member board of directors, all chosen from outside the Bank. Three Class A directors represent commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. Three Class B directors are elected by these banks to represent the public from diverse economic and business sectors. Three Class C directors represent the same broad array of public interests but are appointed by the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. Reserve Bank chairmen and deputy chairmen are selected from this latter group.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco provides wholesale banking services to financial institutions in the nine western states through its head office in San Francisco, branch offices in Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle, and a cash processing office in Phoenix. 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.

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