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Strategy
The National aims to be open and transparent with all stakeholders, including the owners of the business - the shareholders (direct and indirect). Plain English communication and easy access to company information are important objectives of the Company's communication strategy. Information is communicated to shareholders regularly through a range of forums, publications and online. These include:
- the Company's Annual General Meeting, will be held in Perth on 7 February 2008;
- notices and explanatory memoranda of annual general meetings;
- the Concise Annual Report (unless a shareholder has requested not to receive the document);
- the Annual Financial Report (for those shareholders who have requested a copy);
- Corporate Social Responsibility Report (for stakeholders who request a copy);
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disclosures to the stock exchanges in Australia, London, Luxembourg, New York, New Zealand, Channel Islands, and Tokyo, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commission; and
- letters from the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer or the Chairman to specifically inform shareholders of key matters of interest.
Meetings
The Notice of Annual General Meeting provides details of the location, time and date of the Meeting, the business to be considered by shareholders and details about each candidate standing for election or re-election as a Director of the Company. On average, these meetings attract around 1000 shareholders and stakeholders. For those shareholders who are unable to attend the meeting, the National provides a webcast. The Company's external auditors attend this meeting and are available to answer shareholder questions about the conduct of the audit and preparation and content of the auditor's report.
Continuous Disclosure
The National has adopted a disclosure policy that is designed to ensure that:
- the National discloses its activities to shareholders and the market in a full and timely manner and complies with its legal and regulatory obligations;
- all stakeholders have an equal opportunity to receive and obtain externally available information issued by the National.
The National will immediately notify the market (by announcing to the stock exchanges on which its securities are listed) of any information related to its businesses which a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the price or value of its securities.
In certain circumstances, the applicable listing rules will permit the National not to disclose such material information.
The National's policy provides that, in general, the National will not respond to market speculation or rumours unless required to do so by law or the Australian Securities Exchange.
The Company Secretary is responsible for communicating with the relevant stock exchanges on which the securities of the National are listed. All such releases, including relevant external briefing and presentation materials, will be made available on the National's website.
In appropriate circumstances, the National may request a trading halt from the Australian Securities Exchange to prevent trading in National's securities by an inefficient and uninformed market.
Group Disclosure & External Communications Policy
Patriot Act Certification
This Patriot Act certificate should be used by any financial institution that requires a Patriot Act Certification for the National Australia Bank Limited.
This certification covers all branches listed in this file.
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