H. F. Ahmanson & Company Adopts New Stockholder Rights Plan and Amends By-Laws

Business Wire, Nov 7, 1997

IRWINDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 1997--H. F. Ahmanson & Company (NYSE:AHM), parent company of Home Savings of America, Friday announced that its board of directors adopted a new Stockholder Rights Plan as well as amendments to its by-laws.

Ahmanson's former Stockholder Rights Plan, which was originally adopted in 1988 and was scheduled to expire during 1998, will be terminated upon the effectiveness of the new Stockholder Rights Plan. The new Stockholder Rights Plan has a 10-year term and makes certain changes updating the former plan.

As with the former plan, the new Stockholders Rights Plan is designed to protect Ahmanson stockholders against coercive or unfair takeover tactics and to prevent an acquiror from obtaining control of the company without offering a fair and equal price to all stockholders. The action was taken by the board of directors in response to general industry and market conditions and not in response to any known effort to acquire control of Ahmanson.

The rights will be distributed as a dividend to stockholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 17, 1997.

H. F. Ahmanson & Company, with assets of more than $46 billion, is the parent company of Home Savings of America, one of the nation's largest full-service consumer and small business banks. It operated 371 financial service centers in three states and 125 mortgage lending offices in nine states. -0- Note to editors: For past press releases and investor relations information, go to http://www.businesswire.com/cnn/ahm.shtml .

CONTACT: H. F. Ahmanson & Company, Irwindale

Mary Trigg, 626/814-7922 (media)

Steve Swartz, 626/814-7986 (investor)