December 22, 2005

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Announces New Members
to the 2006 Board of Directors

San Francisco, December 22, 2005 - The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco announced today that Charles H. Smith, president and chief executive officer of AT&T West has been appointed to the SF Fed's board of directors as a class C director. Kenneth P. Wilcox, president and chief executive officer of SVB Financial Group and Silicon Valley Bank has been elected to the SF Fed's board of directors as a class A director, and Candace Hunter Wiest, president and chief operating officer of Inland Empire National Bank has been re-elected for a second term, also as a class A director. Their terms begin January 1, 2006.

Mr. Smith is president and chief executive officer of AT&T West, overseeing an organization of more than 41,000 employees who deliver products and services to customers in California and Nevada. He has held a wide range of senior executive positions for AT&T during his 38-year career, including positions in human resources, operations, and marketing. Mr. Smith joined the company in 1967. He is a member of the board for the Committee on Jobs, San Francisco, the Executive Technology Centers, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Mr. Wilcox is president and chief executive officer of SVB Financial Group and Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara. He joined Silicon Valley Bank in 1990 when he co-founded the company's East Coast Technology Division. He was promoted to chief banking officer in 1997, and became president and chief executive officer in 2000 of Silicon Valley Bank and Silicon Valley Bancshares, now known as SVB Financial Group. Mr. Wilcox is a current director for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Rebuilding Together, and serves on the Dea's Advisory Board for the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.

Ms. Wiest is president and chief operating officer of Inland Empire National Bank, Riverside's local business bank. Ms. 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 over twenty years, spending eighteen years in Riverside. Ms. Wiest is a current director with the Greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce and serves on numerous community boards. Ms. Wiest was first elected to the SF Fed's board of directors in 2003.

The balance of the Board includes: David K.Y. Tang, (chairman) Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, T. Gary Rogers, (deputy chairman) Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc., Karla S. Chambers, Stahlbush Island Farms, Richard W. Decker, Belvedere Capital Partners LLC, Jack McNally, JKM Consulting, Barbara L. Wilson, Qwest Corporation (retired).

Each of the nation's 12 Federal Reserve Banks has a nine-member board of directors, three of whom are appointed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as class C directors. The remaining six (three class A and three class B) are elected by the member banks in the Twelfth Federal Reserve District. Class A directors are drawn from the banking community. Class B and class C directors are individuals chosen to represent the public and typically represent business, industry, agriculture, services, labor and consumers. The board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco contributes to the formulation of U.S. monetary policy through the industry and regional economic information they provide the bank's president. Reserve bank directors also recommend changes in the discount rate.

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