Day One for the newly merged bank

Four thousand-plus staff throughout Australia will today celebrate the completion of the merger of Adelaide and Bendigo Bank.

Chairman Robert Johanson will go to a celebratory morning tea at the former Adelaide Bank’s Melbourne offices with a number of staff from Bendigo Bank’s Docklands.

Deputy Chairman Kevin Osborn will meet with staff and directors at West Beach Community Bank® Branch.

Today is the first day of a different and unique retail/wholesale bank.

In accordance with the merger terms, holders of Adelaide Bank Ordinary Shares have today been issued with 1.075 Bendigo Bank Shares for each Adelaide Bank share they own.

New Bendigo Bank shares issued to Adelaide Bank shareholders under the terms of the merger will cease trading on a deferred settlement basis on 4 December 2007 and will commence trading on a normal settlement basis on 5 December 2007.

Robert Johanson thanked Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank employees and advisers who have worked so hard to ensure the implementation of the merger.

“We now look forward to completing the integration of the businesses and creating a stronger, more diverse financial services organisation,” Mr Johanson said.

“We are creating a retail/wholesale bank that incorporates the best elements of two very different customer and partner servicing businesses.

“The merged bank will have far more diverse revenues and greater funding flexibility, scale and efficiencies,” he said.

Mr Johanson said one of the benefits of this merger was that there would be very little branch overlap, and therefore none of the customer disruption that traditionally destroys shareholder value when merging banks.

The company is committed to investing in Adelaide Bank’s South Australian retail network to become a significant retail competitor in that State.