ASX Announcement - Bank of New Zealand General Disclosure Statement - 20 March 2006

National Australia Bank today released the General Disclosure Statement for the Bank of New Zealand that is prepared to meet a regulatory requirement.

The Bank of New Zealand General Disclosure Statement this year reflects the transition to the International Financial Reporting Standards.

Due to the adoption of NZ IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Disclosure and Presentation, NZ IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and NZ IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts on 1 October 2005, some numbers included in the income statement on page 6 in the current financial period may not be comparable to the prior period.

Please refer to Note 1 contained in the General Disclosure Statement covering Principal Accounting Policies and Note 29 Transition to New Zealand Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards for further details.

Click here to view the full BNZ General Disclosure Statement

For further information:

Brandon Phillips
Group Manager, External Relations
T  03 8641 3857
M  0419 369 058

Hany Messieh
Head of Investor Relations
T 03 8641 2312
M  0414 446 876

Kim Lovely
External Relations Manager
T  03 8641 4982
M  0406 035 243