National Australia Bank Increases St George Holding - 21 January 2000

National Australia Bank Limited announced today that it had successfully moved to preserve and strengthen its existing strategic shareholding in St George Bank Limited. This was achieved through a combination of on-market purchases in the last month and a reverse book build exercise successfully conducted overnight by Merrill Lynch Equities (Australia) Limited.

Overnight the National acquired 14 million St George Bank shares (approximately 3.1 %), the maximum it had sought. The National's direct holding in St George now totals approximately 9.4%.

The National's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Frank Cicutto, said: "We continue to view our investment in St George as a strategic holding. The recent share acquisitions preserve all our options and strengthen our position as St George's largest shareholder.

"Senior management of St George Bank was kept appropriately informed of the exercise."

A substantial shareholding notice will be lodged in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Law.