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 Exhibit 10.30

                             CITY NATIONAL CORPORATION

                                        1999

                                VARIABLE BONUS PLAN


       1.  PURPOSE.  The purpose of the City National Corporation Variable
Bonus Plan (the "Plan") is to provide annual cash awards to top management
that recognize and reward the achievement of corporate performance goals.

       2.  EFFECTIVE DATE OF PLAN.  The Plan shall be effective as of January
1, 1999, upon approval of the Plan by the shareholders of  City National
Corporation (the "Corporation").

       3.  PLAN ADMINISTRATION.  The Plan shall be administered by the
Compensation and Directors Nominating Committee ("Committee") of the Board of
Directors, which shall consist of members appointed from time to time by the
Board of Directors.  Each member of the Committee shall be an "outside
director" within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended ("the Code").  The Committee shall have full power and
authority, subject to the provisions of the Plan and applicable law, to (a)
establish, amend, suspend or waive such rules and regulations and appoint
such agents as it deems necessary or advisable for the proper administration
of the Plan, (b) construe, interpret and administer the Plan and any
instrument or agreement relating to the Plan, and (c) make all other
determinations and take all other actions necessary or advisable for the
administration of the Plan except that the Committee (but not the Board of
Directors) shall have no authority to take any action that would cause any
Award to any Participant to fail to qualify as "performance-based
compensation" under Section 162(m) of the Code.  Unless otherwise expressly
provided in the Plan, each determination made and each action taken by the
Committee pursuant to the Plan or any instrument or agreement relating to the
Plan (a) shall be within the sole discretion of the Committee,  (b) may be
made at any time, and  (c) shall be final, binding and conclusive for all
purposes on all persons, including, but not limited to, Participants in the
Plan, their legal representatives and beneficiaries and employees of the
Corporation and its subsidiaries.

       4.  ELIGIBILITY.  The Chief Executive Officer and all other officers
of the Corporation and its subsidiaries are eligible to participate in the
Plan, if designated by the Committee.

       5.  AWARDS.  Prior to or within 90 days after the commencement of each
calendar year (the "Plan Year"), the Committee shall designate the following:

              5.1.  The officers who will participate (the "Participants") in
       the Plan for the Plan Year.

              5.2.  The Corporate Financial Criteria, as defined herein, which
       will apply to awards for the Plan Year.


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              5.3.  The Performance Goals, as defined herein, to be met by the
       Corporation for Participants to earn awards for the Plan Year and a
       payout matrix or formula for such Corporate Financial Criteria and
       Performance Goals.

              5.4.  The award will be a bonus payment in an amount obtained by
       multiplying the following amounts:  (1) a Participant's annualized base
       salary, as determined by the Committee, as of the first day of the Plan
       Year,  (2) a specified percentage (expressed as a decimal or fixed by a
       formula which will determine such percentage) determined by the Committee
       to apply to the Participant for the Plan Year.

       The Committee may, after the 90th day of the Plan Year, designate
additional officers to participate in the Plan for the Plan Year (also
"Participants" for purposed hereof); provided, however, that:  (i) any awards
earned by any such Participant for participation for such partial Plan Year
will be pro-rated based on the number of days during the Plan Year in which
the Participant participated in the Plan, and (ii) the Performance Goals for
such additional Participants will be established prior to or before the
expiration of 25% of the days remaining in such partial Plan Year.

       A Participant (other than one who is party to an employment agreement
with the Corporation providing for a partial year bonus) who terminates
employment, either voluntarily or involuntarily, before the payment date for
awards for the Plan Year is thereby ineligible for an award under the Plan.

              5.5.   Anything in this Plan to the contrary notwithstanding, no
       provisions of this Plan may be used to reduce any amounts due to any
       Participant who is a party to an employment agreement with the
       Corporation which provides for the payment of cash or other benefit in
       the event of the Participant's death, disability, retirement or loss of
       employment because of a reduction in the workforce, below the amounts so
       provided in the employment agreement.

       Awards under the Plan shall be paid to the Participants in cash.

       6.  CORPORATE FINANCIAL CRITERIA.  For each Plan year, the Committee
shall designate one or more of the corporate financial criteria (the
"Corporate Financial Criteria") set forth in this Section 6 for use in
determining an award for a Participant for such Plan Year.  Corporate
Financial Criteria shall consist of one or more, or a combination of, the
following financial measures: net income; earnings per share; return on
assets; return on equity; assets; assets under management and administration;
risk adjusted return on capital; Economic Value Added; (COPY TO COME)
provided, however, that the Committee retains the discretion to determine
whether an award will be paid under any one or more of such Corporate
Financial Criteria.

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       7.  PERFORMANCE GOALS.  For each Plan Year, the Committee shall
establish specific, objective performance goals (the "Performance Goals"),
the outcome of which is substantially uncertain at the time so established,
for each of the Corporate Financial Criteria designated by the Committee for
the Plan Year, against which actual performance is to be measured to
determine the amount of awards.  Performance  Goals established by the
Committee may be described by means of a matrix or formula, providing for
goals resulting in the payment of awards under the Plan.

       8.  DETERMINATION & PAYMENT OF AWARDS

              8.1.  As soon as practicable after the end of the Plan Year, the
       Committee will determine the amount of the award earned by each
       Participant, based on application of the criteria specified in Section 6;
       provided however that, except for Participants who have entered into an
       employment agreement with the Corporation, the Committee may, in its sole
       discretion, reduce the amount which would otherwise be payable under the
       Plan.  As to those Participants who have entered into employment
       agreements with the Corporation, the Committee will not have the
       discretion to reduce any bonus below any minimum amount provided in such
       agreement.  Payments will be made promptly after determination of the
       awards by the Committee, unless payment of an award has been deferred
       pursuant to Section 10.6 hereof.  Such Committee determination must
       include a certification in writing that the Performance Goals and any
       other materials terms of the award were in fact satisfied; provided that
       minutes of the Committee meeting (or any action by written consent) shall
       satisfy the written certification requirement.

              8.2.  Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the maximum
       dollar amount that may be awarded under this Plan for any Plan Year to
       any Participant may not exceed $3 million.

       9.  TERMINATION, SUSPENSION OR MODIFICATION OF THE PLAN.  The Board of
Directors may at any time, with or without notice, terminate, suspend, or
modify the Plan in whole or in part, except that the Board of Directors shall
not amend the Plan in violation of the law or in contravention of Treasury
Regulation Section 1.162-27, promulgated under the Code, unless the Board of
Directors finds that such amendment is in the best interest of the
Corporation.  The Committee is expressly permitted to make any amendments to
the Plan, which are not in violation of the law, that are required to conform
the Plan to the requirements of Section 162(m).  The Committee may also
correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the
Plan in the manner and to the extent it shall deem desirable to carry the
Plan into effect.

       10.  MISCELLANEOUS.

              10.1.  No Assignments.  No award under this Plan shall be subject
       in any manner to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment,
       pledge, encumbrance, charge, garnishment, execution, or levy of any kind,
       either voluntary or involuntary, including any such liability which is
       for alimony or other payments for the support of a spouse or former
       spouse, or for any other relative of Participant prior to actually being
       received by Participant or his/her designated beneficiary, and any
       attempt to anticipate, alienate, sell,

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       transfer, assign, pledge encumber, charge, or otherwise dispose of any
       right to such award shall be void.

              10.2.  No Right of Employment.  Neither the adoption of the Plan,
       the determination of eligibility to participate in the Plan, nor the
       granting of an award under the Plan shall confer upon any Participant any
       right to continue in the employ of the Corporation or any of its
       subsidiaries or to interfere in any way with the right of the Corporation
       or the subsidiary to terminate such employment at any time.

              10.3.  Tax Withholding.  The Corporation shall have the right to
       withhold the amount of any tax attributable to amounts payable under the
       Plan.

              10.4.  Governing Law.  The Plan and all determinations under the
       Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of
       the State of California.

              10.5.  Other Plans.  Nothing in this Plan shall be construed as
       limiting the authority of the Committee, Board of Directors, the
       Corporation or any subsidiary of the Corporation to establish any other
       compensation plan, or as in any way limiting its or their authority to
       pay bonuses or supplemental compensation to any persons employed by the
       Corporation or a subsidiary of the Corporation,  whether such person is a
       Participant in this Plan and regardless of how the amount of such
       compensation or bonuses is determined.

              10.6.  Deferrals of Awards.  A Participant may elect to defer
       payment of his/her cash award under the Plan if deferral of an award
       under the Plan is permitted pursuant to the terms of a deferred
       compensation program of the Corporation existing at the time the election
       to defer is permitted to be made, and the Participant complies with the
       terms of such program.

              10.7.  Section 162(m).  It is the intention of the Corporation
       that all payments made under the Plan shall fall within the
       "performance-based compensation" exception contained in Section 162(m)
       of the Code. Thus, unless the Board of Directors expressly determines
       otherwise, and if any Plan provision is found not to be in compliance
       with such exception, that provision shall be deemed to be amended so
       that the provision does comply to the extent permitted by law, and in
       every event, the Plan shall be construed in favor of its meeting the
       "performance-based compensation" exception contained in Section 162(m)
       of the Code.

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