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Media Contact: Elizabeth Hodges
(704) 383-5188

January 10, 2000
First Union Economist Among Top Five in Wall Street Journal Forecasting Survey

CHARLOTTE-David Orr, First Union Securities chief economist, received top ranking in The Wall Street Journal's semiannual Economic Forecasting Survey. Orr ranked fifth out of 53 economists surveyed.

The survey included economists from major banks, investment banks, academic economists and private consulting firms who were presented with a question and answer survey six months prior to the ranking. The top-ranking economists made the most accurate predictions when the surveys were evaluated.

In the survey, Orr forecasted the average growth rate for real GDP at 3.8%, which was exactly the actual result. He predicted the 30Year Treasury Bond yield would rise from 5.98% on June 30 to 6.35% on December 31, whereas the consensus of the forecasters was for a decline to 5.83%. The actual yield on December 31 was 6.48%.

Orr joined First Union in 1987 as vice president for economic research. A former teacher, he began his banking career in 1972 with First Citizens Bank, Raleigh, N.C., and rose to vice president and manager of trust investments. Orr is a Certified Financial Analyst, a member of the North Carolina Society of Financial Analysts and a graduate of the American Bankers Association National Graduate Trust School. A native of the Philadelphia area, he earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Davidson College in 1966.

Orr has made several appearances on national broadcast television including

CNBC and CNNfn and is quoted regularly in major national newspapers. He heads a team of First Union Securities economists including Jay Bryson, international economist, and Mark Vitner, local economist.

Important Notice: First Union Securities is the trade name under which First Union Corporation conducts its investment banking, merger and acquisition, asset management and mutual fund, brokerage and insurance businesses.

First Union Securities includes: (1) First Union Securities, Inc. ("FUSI"), a registered broker-dealer and member NYSE/NASD and SIPC providing investment banking, merger and acquisition advisory and brokerage services to corporations, individuals and other institutions throughout the United States; (2) First Union Brokerage Services, Inc. ("FUBS"), a separately registered broker-dealer and member NASD and SIPC providing primarily retail brokerage services; (3) First Clearing Corporation ("FCC"), a separately registered broker-dealer and member NYSE/NASD and SIPC, providing securities clearance and settlement services; (4) the Capital Markets and Capital Management Groups within First Union National Bank ("FUNB"), a national banking association, and its subsidiaries, providing asset management, lending, structured finance risk management, derivatives, and fiduciary services to institutions and individuals; (5) various subsidiaries within First Union Corporation providing investment advisory, administrative and other services to the Evergreen and Mentor families of mutual funds; and (6) various wholly-owned state insurance agencies.

Stocks, bonds, mutual funds or other securities offered or sold through First Union Corporation or any of its bank or non-bank subsidiaries are not deposits of any bank and are not insured, guaranteed or otherwise protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency; are not endorsed or guaranteed by First Union Corporation, FUNB or any bank; and involve investment risk, including possible loss of principal.

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