National Appoints New Chief Information Officer - 5 April 2002

The National Australia Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Ian Crouch as Chief Information Officer reporting to the National's Managing Director and CEO, Frank Cicutto.

Ian joins the National from A.T. Kearney/EDS, based in London, where he was the Head of the European Strategic Information Technology Practice, a member of the European Operating Committee and a member of the EDS Global Leadership Team.

Ian joined A.T. Kearney in 1997 where he initially had responsibility for coordination of Strategic Information Technology for global Financial Institutions.

Ian has extensive experience in financial services. His background has allowed him to work with a range of leading financial institutions including Citibank, American Express, ING and the National Australia Bank Group (both in Australia and United Kingdom).

The National's Managing Director and CEO, Frank Cicutto, congratulated Ian on his appointment.

"We're very pleased to have Ian joining us. He has an impressive record in driving through major business change and brings a wealth of information technology experience in financial services both in Australia and internationally. Ian will be a valuable addition to our executive management team," Mr Cicutto said.

Commenting on his new role, Mr Crouch said: "I'm excited to be joining the management team at the National and returning to Australia. In particular I'm looking forward to using both my IT and Financial Services Industry experience to contribute to the alignment of the National's information technology and its business strategies.