The Board of Directors City National Corporation

We have audited, in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, the consolidated balance sheet of City National Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2000 and 1999, and the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2000 (not presented herein) and in our report dated January 17, 2001, we expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements.

In our opinion, the information set forth in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the consolidated financial statements from which it has been derived.

Los Angeles, California
January 17, 2001