January 8 , 2004
Contact: Thomas L. Lavelle, Assistant Vice President and Public Information Officer

Boston -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston announced today a new Chairman and Deputy Chairman of its Board of Directors as well as the election of new Class A and B Directors and the appointment of a new Class C director.

Peter A. Blyberg – Mr. Blyberg was elected a Class A Director of the Bank. He has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Union Trust Company and its holding company, Union Bankshares in Ellsworth, Maine, since 1996.

James R. Wood – Mr. Wood was elected a Class A Director of the Bank. He is President of the First National Bank of Suffield, Suffield, Connecticut. Mr. Wood has been in the banking industry for 36 years and has served as President of First National since 1992.

Kirk P. Pond – Mr. Pond was elected a Class B Director of the Bank. He is President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fairchild Semiconductor International.

Dr. Lisa M. Lynch – Professor Lynch was appointed a Class C Director of the Bank. She is Academic Dean and the William L. Clayton Professor of International Economic Affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

The balance of the Board includes:

Samuel O. Thier, M.D., former President and CEO, Partners HealthCare System, Inc., is the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Dr. Thier is a Professor of Medicine and Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Blenda Wilson – Dr. Wilson is Deputy Chair of the Bank's Board of Directors, and the President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Quincy, Massachusetts.

Orit Gadiesh – Ms. Gadiesh, a Class B Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is the Chairman of the Board of Bain & Company, Boston, Massachusetts.

Lawrence Fish – Mr. Fish, a Class A Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is the Chairman, President and CEO of Citizens Financial Group, Providence, Rhode Island.

Robert K. Kraft – Mr. Kraft, a Class B Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is the founder and chairman of the Kraft Group of Companies.

The Federal Reserve Act requires that each Reserve Bank have nine directors. Three Class A directors represent member banks in the district; three Class B directors and three Class C directors are selected with due consideration to the interests of agriculture, commerce, industry, services, labor, and consumers.
Member banks elect Class A and Class B directors. The System's Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. appoints Class C directors, and from this group designates the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

In addition, the Federal Reserve Bank announced that David A. Spina, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, State Street Corporation, was selected to serve as the First District representative to the Federal Advisory Council.

The Federal Advisory Council, a body created by the Federal Reserve Act, consists of representatives from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. The group meets at least four times a year in Washington, D.C.