Exhibit 99(b)

NEWS RELEASE
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                                                           For Immediate Release
                                                               November 30, 2001


For Further Information Contact:
Jerry Francis, President & CEO
(304) 769-1101

             City Holding Company Completes Sale of California Banks

         Charleston, West Virginia - City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO),  a $2.0
billion bank holding company  headquartered in Charleston,  today announced that
the sale of its  California  subsidiaries,  Del Amo  Savings  Bank and  Frontier
Bancorp  (parent of Frontier  State Bank) to First  Federal Bank of  California,
Santa Monica, California, has been completed.

         Jerry Francis,  City Holding Company's  President and CEO, stated,  "We
are pleased for the  customers and  shareholders  of City Holding  Company.  The
customers of Frontier and Del Amo will benefit from the increased  resources and
in-market  ownership  that First Federal Bank of California  provides.  For City
shareholders,  this completes the last of the planned divestitures and concludes
our exodus from the California market. The Company is now able to fully focus on
its core community banking operations in West Virginia."

         City Holding  Company is the parent  company of City  National  Bank of
West Virginia and City Financial Corporation. City National Bank, in addition to
its banking divisions, operates CityInsurance Professionals, an insurance agency
offering a full range of insurance products and services.

         Information  contained  in this news release  includes  forward-looking
statements  relating to City  Holding's  sale of Del Amo and  Frontier  that are
included  pursuant  to the safe  harbor  provisions  of the  Private  Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such  forward-looking  statements involve certain
risks and  uncertainties,  including  a variety of  factors  that may cause City
Holding's  actual results to differ  materially from the anticipated  results or
other expectations  expressed in such forward-looking  statements.  Factors that
might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, the fact that the
completed transaction may not have the effects anticipated. City Holding Company
disclaims any intent or obligation to update this forward-looking information.