Steven F. Young
Senior Vice President

Wainwright Bank & Trust Company
(NASDAQ: WAIN)
telephone:(617) 478-4000
fax: (617) 478-4020
e-mail: syoung@wainwrightbank.com
website: www.wainwrightbank.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wainwright Bank Receives $275,000 Award From CDFI Fund

Boston, MA, March 21, 2001 - Wainwright Bank & Trust Company has received a Bank Enterprise Award of $275,000 from the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund of the U.S. Treasury.

"We are honored to have our community development lending efforts recognized by the U.S. Treasury for the fourth year in a row. In the past we've used the awards to create a donor advised fund at The Boston Foundation. This year, we've used the award to create CommunityRoom.net which provides free hosted websites with on-line donation capabilities to nonprofit clients of the bank," said Senior Vice President and Community Development Loan Officer, Pamela Feingold.

The CDFI Fund's mission is to promote local growth and access to capital by expanding traditional financial institutions' lending, investment and services within under-served markets.

Wainwright Bank has financed over $140 million in affordable housing and other socially responsible community development projects within the Boston area including homeless shelters, food banks, AIDS services, women's health projects, and environmental protection.

With headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and branches throughout neighborhoods in Boston, Cambridge, Watertown and soon in Somerville, Wainwright Bank is a publicly-traded commercial bank (NASDAQ symbol "WAIN") founded in 1987 with current assets of $450 million. Wainwright's socially responsible community development initiatives have been widely recognized and in 1998 the bank received the national Annual Business Ethics Award for its "commitment to social justice inside and out".

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