ANNOUNCES A THREE-FOR-TWO (3 X 2) STOCK SPLIT

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, June 17, 2002. W HOLDING COMPANY, INC. (NYSE: WHI), the financial holding company of WESTERNBANK PUERTO RICO, announced today that at a meeting held today, June 17, 2002, the Board of Directors authorized a three-for-two (3 X 2) stock split of the Company’s $1.00 par value common stock to be paid on July 10, 2002, to stockholders of record as of June 28, 2002.

The split will have the effect of increasing the number of shares of the common stock issued and outstanding from 41,500,000 to 62,250,000. W Holding will pay cash to the stockholders in lieu of fractional shares at a rate equal to the closing price of the stock as of the record date, June 28, 2002.

Commenting on this action Frank C. Stipes, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “the stock split is intended to further enhance the liquidity and availability of the Company’s stock to a larger market by reason of price and number of outstanding shares. In order to know what amount of shares each stockholder will receive, all they have to do is multiply their holdings by 1.5. This will give them the amount of total shares they own.”

For the first five and a half months of the year, W Holding stock has increased 37.60%, adding this to its history and pattern of uninterrupted growth and continued appreciation, being the past year, 2001, the most recent year with a consistent market value increase of virtually 40.00%. Stockholders that acquired shares of the Company at the original stock offering have experienced an increase over their original investment of 8,345.00%, in addition to receiving every year cash dividends payments that for the last three years are being distributed monthly.

The Company’s stock, “WHI”, currently trades at just over 13 times earnings (P/E) of its projected 2002 earnings. Being a strong growth company as it is, with consistent and uninterrupted profits since its founding almost half a century ago, and the only Bank in Puerto Rico with such a performance and one of the few, if not the only one in the entire United States with such a record, there is a great potential for appreciation to industry levels which fluctuate between 15 to 18 times earnings.

W Holdings management expects earnings for 2002 to range between $81.0 million to $85.0 million, as market and economic conditions my permit. This is traduced into earnings per share of $1.63 to $1.73 after payment of dividends of preferred stock, a growth of 30.0% to 37.0% for 2002.

The strong and consistent performance of the company has placed it in the top 10 best banks in the entire United States. The Company has had an organic or natural growth, without mergers or consolidations, of over 30.0% per year for the average of the last 10 consecutive years, projecting again for 2002 between 30.0% and 37.0% growth.

Mr. Stipes warned however, that “forward-looking statements with respect to future financial conditions, results of operations and business of the Company are always subject to various risk and market factors out of management’s control which could cause future results to differ materially from current management expectations or estimates and as such should be understood, and not taken as carved in stone. Such factors include, but are not limited, to the possibility that adverse economic conditions or that an adverse interest rate environment could develop”. 

Westernbank Puerto Rico, the wholly-owned subsidiary of W HOLDING COMPANY, INC., is the third largest locally controlled banking entity headquartered in Puerto Rico, in term of total assets operating throughout Puerto Rico through 35 full fledged branches, including 27 in the Southwestern region of Puerto Rico, 3 in the Northeastern region, and 5 at the San Juan Metropolitan area of Puerto Rico.

For further information contact: Frank C. Stipes, Chief Executive Officer or Freddy Maldonado, Chief Financial Officer of the Company at (787) 834-8000; Internet: westernbank@wbpr.com or URL: http://www.wbpr.com