EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
  No.    Description

2.1      Agreement  and Plan of Merger  dated  April 24, 2000  among  Washington
         Trust Bancorp, Inc., The Washington Trust Company,  PhxIMC  Acquisition
         Corp., Phoenix Investment Management Company,  Inc.,  Gerald J. Fogarty
         and Marie J. Langlois (excluding exhibits and schedules).  Incorporated
         herein by reference to the Registrant's Form 8-K filed May 5, 2000.

99.1     Press release of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. issued June 26, 2000.






                                  Exhibit 99.1

Contact:  Elizabeth B. Eckel,
Senior Vice President, Marketing
Telephone (401) 348-1309
Date:  June 26, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington Trust Completes Acquisition of Phoenix Investment Management Company

Westerly, Rhode Island...Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq National Market;
symbol:  WASH), parent of The Washington Trust Company,  today announced that it
has completed its acquisition of Phoenix Investment  Management  Company,  Rhode
Island's largest independent  investment advisory firm. Phoenix will continue to
operate under its own name as a division of Washington Trust.

John C. Warren, Washington Trust's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated,
"This is a major acquisition for us. It significantly  increases the size of our
Trust and  Investment  Services  group and  solidifies  our recent move into the
Providence area." Washington Trust opened a Trust and Investment Services office
at 66 South  Main  Street in  Providence  early this year.  Warren  added,  "The
acquisition also enables Phoenix clients to utilize Washington Trust's full line
of trust, personal and business banking services."

Gerald J. Fogarty, Jr. and Marie J. Langlois, who founded  Phoenix in 1988, have
joined Washington Trust as Managing Directors of Phoenix. Warren noted, "Phoenix
has a talented group of investment professionals and we're thrilled to have them
join the Washington Trust team."

Washington Trust Bancorp,  Inc. is the parent of The Washington Trust Company, a
Rhode Island  state-chartered bank founded in 1800. The Bank offers a full range
of financial services,  including trust and investment  management,  through its
offices in Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut.  Washington Trust Bancorp,
Inc.'s common stock trades on The Nasdaq Stock  Market(R) under the symbol WASH.
Web site address: www.washtrust.com.

# # #

This report contains certain  statements that may be considered  forward-looking
statements  within the meaning of Section 27A of the  Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The
Corporation's actual results could differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking  statements  as a result,  among  other  factors,  of changes in
general  national or regional  economic  conditions,  changes in interest rates,
reductions in deposit levels necessitating increased borrowing to fund loans and
investments,  changes in the size and nature of the  Corporation's  competition,
changes in loan default and  charge-off  rates,  and changes in the  assumptions
used in making such forward-looking statements.