Washington Trust Hires New Vice President

December 5, 2006 (Westerly, RI). . . Laurel L. Bowerman, of East Greenwich, R.I., has been named vice president, commercial real estate for The Washington Trust Company. Bowerman, who works out of the Bank’s Providence Office, is responsible for commercial real estate lending in New England. Bowerman holds an M.B.A. from the University of Rhode Island and is a graduate of the Stonier School of Banking. She is a Board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence, the treasurer of the Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island, and a member of the URI Foundation.

The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., a $2.4 billion corporation headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and is the largest independent bank headquartered in Rhode Island. A state-chartered bank, Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including personal banking, business banking, and wealth management and trust services, through its offices located in Rhode Island, southeastern Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Corporation’s common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock MarketÒ under the symbol WASH. Web site address: www.washtrust.com.