The boards of directors of Southwest Bancorporation of Texas, Inc. (“the Company”) and Amegy Bank National Association (“the Bank”) have adopted corporate governance practices designed to promote the effective functioning of the boards, their committees, and the Company. The Company expects and requires that its directors, officers, and employees observe absolute integrity in the conduct of its business.

The Company’s corporate governance practices exceed the requirements imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the NASDAQ listing standards pertaining to corporate governance. In January 2003, the Company's board of directors adopted new charters of its board committees, which impose on those committees the duties contemplated by the new requirements. In addition, the board adopted new Corporate Governance Guidelines and a revised Code of Conduct and Ethics, which includes a code of ethics for its principal executive and financial officers. Those instruments were amended by the board of directors in February 2005.

Among the highlights of our corporate governance practices are the following:

• All directors of the Company and the Bank other than the Chairman, the Chief Executive Officer, and the President are independent, as measured by the applicable standards and affirmatively determined by the boards. The new requirements demand only that a majority be independent.

• The Company and the Bank have a strict and detailed Code of Conduct and Ethics. All employees and directors are required to certify their compliance with the Code at the inception of their employment and each year thereafter.

• The Bank makes available a telephone and Web-based reporting system that assures the anonymity of the person making a report of an ethics or accounting irregularity. All personnel are encouraged to utilize the system in reporting concerns about questionable accounting or auditing matters, fraud, violations of the Code of Conduct and Ethics, or other violations of law.

• The Internal Audit Department of the Bank monitors our compliance with appropriate banking and accounting practices and reports directly to the independent Audit Committee of the Company board.

The Company and the Bank have a longstanding culture of honesty, integrity, and accountability, and we have welcomed the opportunity to rapidly and publicly comport with the new requirements and adopt the highest standards of governance practice.