Bank of the West is consolidating its East Bay offices to Bishop Ranch 7, a three-story building on Camino Ramon in San Ramon. The bank has approximately 1,600 employees in seven separate buildings situated in Walnut Creek, Concord and Pacheco. The company's expected occupancy is late 2010.

"The move to Bishop Ranch allows us to remain in the East Bay, accommodate future growth, enjoy greater efficiencies, and provide our employees the high quality working conditions they deserve," said Michael Shepherd, president and chief executive officer of Bank of the West, headquartered in San Francisco. "With multiple leases expiring in 2010, this was an unmatched opportunity to combine our East Bay offices in a single location."

Celebrating 30 years of success, Bishop Ranch is home to a diverse business community representing over 550 companies across 30 industries, including 40 Fortune 500 companies. In 2008, Sunset Development Company leased over 1 million square feet of office space. Long-term leases by Robert Half International, Del Monte Corporation, Chubb Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, University of California Davis, Coca Cola, Hill Physicians and Edgewood Partners Insurance represented approximately 600,000 square feet of the newly leased office space. The combined leases of Bank of the West and Robert Half International will bring approximately 3,000 employees to San Ramon, California.

"We're finding that successful businesses want to be in close proximity to other successful, established leaders in business," said Ed Hagopian, executive vice president, Sunset Development Company. "The consolidation by Robert Half International last year to Bishop Ranch and now the move by Bank of the West is evidence that these and other legacy East Bay companies are converging toward a center of excellence," said Hagopian. "We're proud to offer a first class community where leaders can gather and network and where employees can enjoy the dynamic mix of amenities surrounding Bishop Ranch. San Ramon is a safe and business friendly community with excellent schools, parks and housing. It is one of the best places in the Bay Area to live and work."

As evidenced by the recent addition of Bank of the West, many companies have consolidated offices, relocated and expanded their presence to Bishop Ranch because of its high quality business environment and invaluable professional services. The business community, which spans more than 585 acres with 10 million rentable square feet, is conveniently located at the 680 corridor offering an ideal commute for most East Bay residents. In addition, Bishop Ranch employees have access to a comprehensive commuter program designed to creatively and consistently allow individuals to save millions of dollars annually on transit fares, taxi rides, and the cost of driving themselves to work.

About Bishop Ranch

Bishop Ranch (www.bishopranch.com), development by Sunset Development Company, is located on 585 acres adjacent to I-680 in the San Ramon Valley. Recognized by the prestigious Urban Land Institute for excellence in design and development, Bishop Ranch includes more than ten million square feet of office space in 14 complexes. It is home to over 550 companies and their more than 30,000 employees. The business park includes corporate office space to several Fortune 1,000 companies, as well as dining, shopping and hotel accommodations.

About Bank of the West

Based in San Francisco, $66 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com) offers a full range of business, corporate, personal, trust and international banking services. The Bank operates more than 700 branch locations and commercial banking offices in 19 Western and Midwestern states.Bank of the West's holding company, BancWest Corporation, is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, among the six strongest banks in the world, according to Standard & Poor's.

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