Results Highlights

	Quarter to			Half-Year to
Profitability	March	December	March	March	March	Half-Year
	1997	1996	1996	1997	1996	Change
	A$M	A$M	A$M	A$M	A$M	%


Group operating profit	557	582	485	1,139	998	14.1

Major contributions (after goodwill)
Australian Group				721	711	1.4
UK/Irish Group				215	161	33.5
New Zealand Group				113	55	large
United States Group				75	65	15.4
Asian Group				15	6	large
Underlying profit	895	960	833	1,855	1,673	10.9
Net interest income	1,276	1,316	1,252	2,592	2,503	3.6
Non interest income	800	813	724	1,613	1,407	14.6
Non interest expenses	1,181	1,169	1,143	2,350	2,237	5.1
Charge for doubtful debts	66	39	104	105	162	(35.2)

Performance Measurements

Group net interest margin				3.6%	4.0%
Cost/income ratio (excl goodwill)	55.2%	53.3%	56.1%	54.2%	55.5%
Basic earnings per share (1)	37.4c	39.4c	33.5c	76.8c	69.4c
Return on average assets				1.3%	1.3%
Return on average shareholders' funds				17.2%	16.9%
Capital risk asset ratio (Tier 1: 7.8%, Tier 2: 2.5%,
deductions: (0.2)%)				10.1%	9.5%
Net tangible asset backing per share				$7.51	$6.57

		As at
Balance Sheet	March	December	September	March	March/Sept
	1997	1996	1996	1996	Change
	A$M	A$M	A$M	A$M	%

Shareholders' equity	13,397	13,317	12,519	11,854	7.0
Total assets	189,199	184,016	173,710	166,550	8.9
Risk weighted assets	142,806	140,633	133,313	125,806	7.1
Total loans, advances and acceptances	138,443	135,139	128,751	123,644	7.5
Total deposits	122,445	119,371	110,921	104,157	10.4
Non-accrual loans, net of specific provisions	778	719	803	1,056	(3.1)

	March	March
Dividends	1997	1996

Interim dividend declared: fully franked	$0.45	$0.43
Interim dividend payout ratio	59.3%	62.7%
Dividend coverage ratio no. of times	1.69	1.59

(1) The difference between basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share is immaterial.