Wholesale Financial Services

Wholesale's values: client focus, teamwork and excellence Net profit* up Net profit* generated outside Australia

HIGHLIGHTS Net profit* increased to $825 million in a challenging environment Launched a global employee values program to improve teamwork and intensify customer focus The National ranked as Australia's number one arranger of corporate bonds for the nine months to September 2002 (Source: Bloomberg, September 2002) Internationally, Wholesale arranged important transactions for our clients, including Auckland International Airport, KT Corporation (formerly Korea Telecom) and Cheung Kong Group     *Excludes the after tax impact of significant items

In this context, our strategic priorities were revised to focus on enhancing relationships with existing core clients.

During the year, we received a number of accolades, including Insto magazine's Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year for 2001 for our role as a joint arranger of a $2 billion syndicated loan for Texas Utilities Australia.

Innovation drives success
Innovative new risk management solutions for Agribusiness customers have proved highly successful. These products enable clients to manage variable risks associated with the prices of cotton, wheat, sugar, wool, canola and corn commodities. The Group is a leading provider of over-the-counter commodity price risk management solutions to Australian agriculture.

We are also carving out a unique position in securitisation solutions, announcing a Medium Term Note issue backed by automobile and equipment loans to medical practitioners in Australia.

Custodian Services maintained its position as one of Australia's largest custodians. Total assets under custody globally reached $365 billion.

Investing in our people
An employee rotation program launched during the year is fostering the exchange of skills between Credit Risk Management and Wholesale.