Greater Bay Bancorp Announces Director Retirements

    Business Editors

    PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2005--Greater Bay Bancorp (Nasdaq:GBBK), a $6.9 billion in assets financial services holding company, announced that its Board of Directors has approved a plan to reduce the size of the Board to a target range of 12 to 14 members. As a result, seven directors will become Directors Emeritus with their resignations becoming effective March 1, 2005. The seven directors are Robert Archer, Susan Ford Dorsey, James Jackson, Stanley Kangas, Rex Lindsay, Warren Thoits and John Whalen.
    Duncan Matteson, Chairman of the Board, commented, "We are truly grateful for the exceptional service that these directors have given to the Company. They have provided valued guidance, and have served the interests of our shareholders with dedication and professionalism throughout their respective tenures."
    Mr. Matteson added, "While we will miss these fine directors, the Board believes that a smaller size will enhance our operational efficiency and effectiveness. The Board also believes that this change is a logical and orderly product of the charter consolidation which the Company announced last year, and that it is also consistent with the broader corporate governance trend toward reductions in the size of board memberships."
    Although resigning from the Board, Ms. Ford will continue to serve as a member of the Greater Bay Bancorp Foundation Board of Directors, and Mr. Jackson will continue to serve on the Trust Oversight Committee of the Bank.

    About Greater Bay Bancorp

    Greater Bay Bancorp, a diversified financial services holding company, provides community banking services in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area through its community banking organization, including Bank of Petaluma, Bank of Santa Clara, Bay Area Bank, Bay Bank of Commerce, Coast Commercial Bank, Cupertino National Bank, Golden Gate Bank, Mid-Peninsula Bank, Mt. Diablo National Bank, Peninsula Bank of Commerce and San Jose National Bank. Nationally, Greater Bay Bancorp provides specialized lending and loan services through its specialty finance group, which includes Matsco, CAPCO and Greater Bay Capital. ABD Insurance and Financial Services, the Company's insurance brokerage subsidiary provides commercial insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and risk management solutions to business clients throughout the United States.
    For additional information and press releases about Greater Bay Bancorp, visit the Company's web site at http://www.gbbk.com.

    Safe Harbor

    This document may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ, please see the publicly available Securities and Exchange Commission filings of Greater Bay Bancorp, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and particularly the discussion of risk factors within such documents.

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CONTACT: Greater Bay Bancorp Byron A. Scordelis, 650-614-5751 or Silverman Heller Associates Philip Bourdillon/Gene Heller, 310-208-2550

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INSURANCE BANKING MANAGEMENT CHANGES SOURCE: Greater Bay Bancorp

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