Exhibit 99.1


               [LETTERHEAD OF THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF IPSWICH]


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE               Contact:    Russell Cole or Timothy Felter
                                                First National Bank of Ipswich
                                                (978) 356-3700


        First National Bank of Ipswich Announces Sale of Trust Department

Ipswich, MA, August 24, 2006 - First National Bank of Ipswich today announced
that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Trust Department to Eastern
Bank. The transaction is expected to be consummated in the fourth quarter of
2006, with an account transition process that is expected to take up to one
year.

Commenting on the sale, Priscilla Cubelli, Senior Vice President of First
National Bank of Ipswich's Trust Department, stated, "I am very excited to join
Eastern Bank; I am sure our customers will be pleased with Eastern Bank's
commitment to quality customer service." Russell G. Cole, President and Chief
Executive Officer of the First National Bank of Ipswich, stated, "We worked
carefully to identify a Bank who would provide a high level of service to our
Trust customers and we believe that Eastern Bank will maintain the same high
standards for customer service that the First National Bank of Ipswich has
delivered for many years." Mr. Cole also stated, "The Board and Management are
committed to returning the Bank to profitability and this transaction is
consistent with that goal."

First Ipswich Bancorp (OTC: FIWC) is the bank holding company of The First
National Bank of Ipswich, a national banking institution established in 1892.
Headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, approximately 25 miles northeast of
Boston, The First National Bank of Ipswich operates eleven full-service offices
in the Massachusetts communities of Ipswich, Gloucester, Essex, Newburyport,
Rowley, Beverly, Boston, and Cambridge, and the New Hampshire communities of
Londonderry and Portsmouth. The First National Bank of Ipswich offers a wide
array of personal and commercial banking products and services.

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements." Words such as
"intends," "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "contemplates," or
"anticipates" may indicate forward-looking statements. There are a number of
important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. These
important factors include, without limitation, competitive conditions in the
Bank's marketplace generally, the Bank's continued ability to originate quality
loans, fluctuation in interest rates including fluctuations which may affect the
Bank's interest rate spread, real estate conditions in the Bank's lending areas,
changes in the securities or financial markets, changes in loan defaults and
charge-off rates, a deterioration in general economic conditions on a national
basis or in the local markets in which Bancorp operates, the Bank's continued
ability to attract and retain deposits, the risk that difficulties will arise in
connection with the integration of the operations of acquired businesses with
the operations of Bancorp's banking or investment management businesses, the
Company's ability to control costs, new accounting pronouncements, the Bank's
continued ability to comply with existing and future regulatory requirements,
and the Bank's ability to comply with its Formal Agreement with the Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency. The Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly release the results of any revisions to those forward-looking
statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.


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