USTrust to Acquire Brewer & Lord LLP

USTrust, a commercial bank, has agreed to acquire the New England insurance agency, Brewer & Lord LLP. Terms of the all cash transaction were not disclosed. The Bank, a USTrust unit, expects that the purchase, including the transaction costs, will be immediately accretive to earnings following the acquisition.

Founded in 1859, Brewer & Lord is one of the largest independent insurance agencies in New England. Based in Norwell, the company operates nine offices in eastern Massachusetts with locations in Abington, Acton, Cambridge, Danvers, Falmouth, Framingham, Lexington, Marshfield and Norwell. Brewer & Lord specializes in providing personal, commercial and employee benefit-related insurance products to consumers and medium-size and large businesses located primarily in eastern Massachusetts.

The affiliation is subject to the approval of state and federal bank regulatory authorities and the Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance and is expected to close in the late first quarter or early second quarter of 1999. Under the agreement Brewer & Lord will continue to operate independently, under its present name, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of USTrust. Brewer & Lord's management team and sales and service staffs will remain in place.

"Brewer & Lord is a perfect strategic fit with USTrust," noted Neal F. Finnegan, USTrust chairman and CEO. "In addition to geographical consistency, our companies share similar business philosophies and long term goals. Further, this affiliation offers a great deal of cross-sell opportunities for both companies. Our customers will benefit greatly from the availability of the personal and business insurance products offered by Brewer & Lord."

Richard A. Hubbard, Brewer & Lord Executive Committee member, stated, "We are very enthusiastic about the planned affiliation with USTrust. We look forward to partnering with an institution that shares our commitment to customer service and superior consumer and business products. With this alignment we anticipate enhanced, continuing relationships with our clients and the insurance companies with which we do business."

USTrust operates 85 offices and 112 ATM machines throughout eastern Massachusetts.