National Bank expands its group pension plan offering and signs an administrative agreement with Industrial Alliance

Montreal, 18 December 2001 - 

National Bank Trust, a subsidiary of the National Bank of Canada, has decided to substantially improve its group pension plan product offering by adding new investment vehicles. National Bank Trust has also entered into an agreement with Industrial Alliance Trust Company, a subsidiary of Industrial Alliance, Insurance and Financial Services to administer its group pension plans.

In addition to assisted portfolio management and guaranteed investment certificates which will still be available, National Bank Trust's product offering will expand with the introduction of new types of investments such as its Multi-Management Program which offers widely diversified portfolios handled by teams of well-known managers, including the biggest names in the mutual fund industry. New investments à-la-carte may be selected from among 18 different investment vehicles. Numerous technological improvements will also be made thanks, in particular, to the implementation of a new Internet platform which will enable all participants to consult their accounts on-line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To integrate all these new products, National Bank Trust has entered into an administrative agreement with Industrial Alliance that will provide administrative support for group pension plans held by National Bank Trust clients. This new agreement will affect about 1,400 pension plans which have approximately 33,000 members and represent assets of more than $430 million.

"Industrial Alliance's reputation was built on savings and pension products and is extremely competitive in terms of its expertise in pension plan administration," said National Bank Trust President, Pierre Desbiens. "As for us, we'll have the confidence of a well-established institutional clientele, and through National Bank's sizeable network, we expect some major developments in our group savings products. I'm sure that by pooling our strengths, we'll be able to add substantial value to Quebec companies and their employees."

René Chabot, Vice-President, Group Pensions at Industrial Alliance is delighted with the agreement between the two companies. "We're pleased about our partnership with National Bank Trust which depends on the exchange of expertise between our institutions and whose strategy, like ours, is to expand the range of our distribution networks."

About the National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada is an integrated group which provides comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services to its clients elsewhere in the world. The National Bank offers a full array of banking services, including all the investment banking services required by large corporations. It is an active player on international capital markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. The National Bank has assets of over $75 billion and, together with its subsidiaries, employs over 17,000 people. The Bank's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

About Industrial Alliance

The Industrial Alliance Group is among the most solid financial institutions in the country, where it is an industry leader in insurance and financial services. The Group has operations across Canada through Industrial Alliance (Quebec City) and its subsidiaries, including IA Pacific Life (Vancouver) and National Life (Toronto). The seventh largest life and health insurer in Canada, the Industrial Alliance Group insures over 1.5 million Canadians and employs more than 2,000 people. The Group has more than $14.7 billion in assets under management and under administration. Industrial Alliance stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IAG. It is also listed on the TSE 300 and the TSE 100, making Industrial Alliance on of the 100 largest public companies in Canada.

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