EXHIBIT 99.1

For Information Contact
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At Greater Bay Bancorp:                 At Financial Relations Board:
David L. Kalkbrenner                    Lise Needham (general information)
President and CEO                       Stephanie Mishra (analyst contact)
(650) 614-5767                          (415) 986-1591
Steven C. Smith
EVP, COO and CFO
(650) 813-8222

At Bay Area Bank:
Frank Bartaldo
President and CEO
(650) 562-3238

                            GREATER BAY BANCORP AND
              BAY AREA BANCSHARES ANNOUNCE COMPLETION OF  MERGER

PALO ALTO, CA, May 24, 1999 -- Greater Bay Bancorp (Nasdaq: GBBK) today
announced that the merger with Bay Area Bancshares, the holding company for Bay
Area Bank, Redwood City, California, was completed on May 21, 1999.  The
transaction furthers the strategic plan of Greater Bay Bancorp in becoming the
preeminent independent bank holding company in Northern California.

Each Bay Area Bancshares shareholder will receive 1.38682 shares of Greater Bay
Bancorp stock for each share of Bay Area Bancshares in a tax-free exchange.  The
merger will be accounted for as a pooling of interests.  Following the
transaction, Bay Area Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bay Area Bancshares,
will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Greater Bay Bancorp.  Based on
March 31, 1999 financial information, the combined company will have total
assets of approximately $1.9 billion and shareholders' equity of approximately
$113 million.

"We are pleased to add another community bank of such quality to the Greater Bay
family," said  David Kalkbrenner, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Greater Bay Bancorp.  "We expect this transaction to be accretive in 1999 as the
merger will provide revenue enhancements and savings in operating expenses.
With this merger, we now have five strong bank subsidiaries."

"We are excited to be joining Greater Bay Bancorp and believe this merger will
benefit our customers, the communities we serve, our shareholders, and our
employees," said Frank Bartaldo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bay
Area Bank.  "By combining with Greater Bay Bancorp, we enhance Bay Area Bank's
ability to offer a wide range of financial services and increase our lending
capacity.  Together, we have a much stronger product offering and position in
our key target markets."

Greater Bay Bancorp and its financial service subsidiaries, Bay Area Bank,
Cupertino National Bank, Mid-Peninsula Bank, Peninsula Bank of Commerce and
Golden Gate Bank, along with its


operating divisions, Greater Bay Bank Santa Clara Commercial Banking Group,
Greater Bay Corporate Finance Group, Greater Bay Bank Contra Costa Regional
Banking Office, Greater Bay International Banking Division, Greater Bay Trust
Company, Pacific Business Funding and Venture Banking Group, serve clients
throughout Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Peninsula and the Contra Costa Tri
Valley Region, with offices located in San Jose, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Palo
Alto, Redwood City, San Mateo, Millbrae, San Bruno, San Francisco and Walnut
Creek.

Safe Harbor
This document may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected.  For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to
differ, please see the Company's publicly available Securities and Exchange
Commission filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1998, and particularly the discussion of risk factors within the
document.

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