PRESS RELEASES

"First Union has the unique opportunity to be the first major bank to develop a comprehensive Spanish language website," said David Carroll, Executive Vice President and Chief E-commerce Officer for First Union. "We have already enabled our ATMs and the First Union Direct telephone information system to be functional in Spanish. Adding a Spanish language website will help First Union to become the preeminent financial institution to meet the needs of this growing market."

The Spanish language sections have been some of the most frequently visited pages on firstunion.com since their inception one month ago. The initial phase of the Spanish website provides sections on products and services, financial planning guides and customer service, as well as an ATM locator, a corporate overview and a Spanish welcome page. Within the next year, the website will contain a banking glossary, a community interest/news section and an expanded customer support area.

"There are many reasons why creating a Spanish language version of firstunion.com is the natural next step for our website," said Kellie Scott, director of First Union's eChannels division. "People of Hispanic origin are a fast-growing potential customer base, and through our website we can provide an alternative service delivery channel for them. This is part of our overall web strategy to utilize the advantages of the web to target different market segments and further enhance customer service through technology."

About First Union

First Union (NYSE:FTU), with $247 billion in assets and stockholders' equity of $15 billion at September 30, 2000, is a leading provider of financial services to 15 million retail and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company operates full-service banking offices in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., and full-service brokerage offices in 46 states and international offices worldwide. Online banking products and services can be accessed through www.firstunion.com.

Firstunion.com provides individuals and businesses with comprehensive information on financial products, services and planning tools to meet a broad spectrum of needs. The Web site also contains company information for customers, shareholders and site visitors. First Union offers a wide range of customer-focused online financial services that cater to more than 1.7 million online banking and online brokerage customers. Firstunion.com is a key, integrated delivery channel that complements First Union's ATM, First Union Direct, and extensive financial center and brokerage network, allowing customers to bank when, where and how they choose.