Affiliated Community Bancorp Inc. Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell Middlesex Bank & Trust Company.

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 1998--Affiliated Community Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCB) and William R. Berkley, of Greenwich, CT jointly announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Berkley will acquire 100 percent of the stock of Middlesex Bank & Trust Company, (Middlesex) the wholly owned subsidiary of AFCB for $8.24 million and other consideration.

In May 1997 AFCB provided the initial capitalization for Middlesex a de novo Massachusetts Trust Company. On June 2, 1997 Middlesex opened its doors for business at its full-service banking facilities located at 232 Boylston Street in the Chestnut Hill area of Newton, Massachusetts.

On December 15, 1997 AFCB entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by UST Corp. (NASDAQ:USTB). This agreement provides that AFCB may sell Middlesex. AFCB has elected to provide the opportunity to Middlesex to remain as a stand-alone bank and not be merged into UST. As of March 31, 1998 Middlesex had total assets of $23.1 million. The present management of Middlesex will remain intact with C. Bernard Fulp continuing as President & CEO.

Timothy J. Hansberry, President & CEO of AFCB, stated, "We are very pleased to be able to provide this opportunity to Middlesex and its management which had been a moving force in the establishment of Middlesex prior to its association with AFCB."

Berkley found W.R. Berkley Corporation, a Greenwich, Connecticut based property and casualty insurance company, in 1967 and has served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since that time.

W.R. Berkley Corporation's core business is structured around a family of local insurance companies based in different parts of the United States. These local companies have a competitive advantage because they know their markets better than the large national insurers. Berkley is also Chairman of The Greenwich Bank & Trust Company, a newly formed community bank based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and proposed Chairman of Westport National Bank, which recently filed an application to form a community bank in Westport, Connecticut.

William R. Berkley noted, "In this environment of accelerating bank mega-mergers, I believe that community banks such as Middlesex Bank & Trust Company will continue to play a vital role in ensuring that individual and small businesses have access to high quality, locally oriented banking services."

The transaction is subject to required regulatory approvals and is subject to UST closing with AFCB which is expected to occur in the second or third quarter. The sale will not have a material impact on either AFCB or UST and will not affect the accounting treatment of the acquisition of AFCB by UST which is structured to qualify as a pooling of interests for accounting purposes.

CONTACT: Affiliated Community Bancorp Inc.

John G. Fallon, 781/894-6810 x399

or

James A. Morgan, 781/894-6810 x284