[Coast Savings Logo]                NEWS RELEASE
Contact:   Mark Neal                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
           (213) 362-2242



COAST ANNOUNCES GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL TO DISCUSS OUT-OF -COURT RESOLUTION OF
REGULATORY CAPITAL LITIGATION, AND NASDAQ APPROVAL TO LIST CPR CERTIFICATES

Los Angeles, February 5, 1998 -- Coast Savings Financial, Inc.
(NYSE & PSE:CSA), the holding company of Coast Federal Bank, FSB,
announced today that attorneys for Coast had received a letter
from the Department of Justice regarding the Bank's pending
lawsuit against the United States government with respect to the
government's alleged breach of an agreement to treat certain
amounts as a permanent addition to the Bank's regulatory capital.
In that letter, the Justice Department stated that it believes
that "it may be productive for the parties to discuss an
out-of-court resolution of the plaintiff's claim for a capital
credit to its net worth." In addition, the letter stated that
"[i]n order to determine whether settlement is possible, we would
need additional information about this claim, particularly [the
Bank's] damages theories and their factual bases." The letter
also stated that following an exchange of information, "if
appropriate, [the Department of Justice] would be willing to
consider referring the claim, or certain specified issues, to a
neutral for alternative dispute resolution."

The Company and its attorneys believe that this letter does not
constitute a settlement offer or an admission of liability by the
government and the Bank has not yet determined whether or how to
respond to the letter. Furthermore, even if discussions are held,
no assurance can be given that such discussions would lead to a
settlement or to an agreement to submit the Bank's claim for
damages against the government or any issues to any form of
alternative dispute resolution. The Bank's attorneys were
informed by the Department of Justice that similar correspondence
has been delivered to other plaintiffs with regulatory "capital
credit" claims against the government.

In a separate development, the Company announced that the NASDAQ
has approved the Contingent Payment Right Certificates ("CPR
Certificates") for listing on the NASDAQ's National Market,
subject only to their issuance in connection with the
consummation of the proposed merger with H. F. Ahmanson. Assuming
the proposed merger is consummated, the Company expects that the
CPR Certificates will be listed for trading under the symbol
"CCPRZ."