Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. Chairman Establishes Plan to Sell Shares and Exercise Stock Options.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2002

Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: BPFH) announced today that Timothy L. Vaill, CEO and Chairman of the Board, has established a plan to sell shares and exercise stock options of BPFH common stock on a quarterly basis. The plan was adopted on May 30, 2002 and is in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Mr. Vaill has been CEO of BPFH since 1993. The shares to be sold are current holdings of Mr. Vaill and related stock option awards made beginning in December of 1994. The first quarterly sale and/or exercise and sale under the plan will not take place until August of 2002 at the earliest. The plan expires in August of 2005.

Under the plan, Mr. Vaill will sell shares, or exercise stock options and sell the underlying shares, covering $150,000 (net of commissions, taxes and exercise price) in value of the Company's common stock each quarter. The shares will be sold with a pre-determined price threshold and with certain other contingencies. Sales under the plan will be effected in a systematic manner with a goal of minimal market impact by spreading them over a more extended period of time than is available using traditional "window" periods. Establishment of the plan permits Mr. Vaill, age 60, systematically to reallocate and diversify a portion of his holdings in the Company's common stock in connection with his estate planning, and will provide, in part, for a structured exercise of options that will soon expire. As a result of Mr. Vaill's current compensation program, however, it is expected that his net shareholdings in BPFH common stock will continue to increase on an annual basis beyond the shares sold in this program.

Rule 10b5-1 permits the implementation of a written plan for selling stock at times when insiders are not in possession of material non-public information and allows them to sell shares on a regular basis and in a non-discretionary manner, regardless of any subsequent material non-public information they receive or the price of the stock at the time of the sale.

About Boston Private Financial Holdings

Established in 1987, Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: BPFH) offers a full range of high-touch wealth management services. Boston Private Financial Holdings includes six operating companies located in New England and California, offering individualized wealth management, financial planning, investment management, and private banking services to its domestic and international clientele. The subsidiaries include: in New England, Boston Private Bank & Trust Company, Westfield Capital Management Company, LLC, RINET Company, LLC, Boston Private Value Investors, Inc.; and in Northern California, Sand Hill Advisors, Inc. and Borel Private Bank & Trust Company. Boston Private Financial Holdings manages approximately $6.7 billion in client assets, and has balance sheet assets of approximately $1.6 billion. It is a member of the Standard & Poor's 600 Index and is included on the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index(R).

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, such statements as may be identified by words such as "plan," "will," "allows," "permits," "reallocate," "diversify," "goal," "offers," "expects" and similar expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events and trends and which do not constitute historical matters. These statements include statements regarding: (1) the impact of sales of the Company's stock under Mr. Vaill's 10b5-1 plan on the market price of the Company's stock; (2) Boston Private's expectations regarding the timing and manner of exercise of Mr. Vaill's stock options and sales of the Company's stock pursuant to Mr. Vaill's 10b5-1 plan; and (3) expectations regarding Mr. Vaill's level of compensation and beneficial holdings of shares of the Company. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Boston Private's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements: (1) volatility in the Company's stock price; (2) termination of Mr. Vaill's 10b5-1 plan or changes in his compensation; (3) adverse conditions and volatility in the stock market, the public debt market and other capital markets; and (4) enactment of adverse government regulation. Additional factors that could cause Boston Private's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Boston Private's other press releases and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2002, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Boston Private does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.