About Computershare

Computershare announced today that it has agreed to buy Montreal Trust's Corporate Trust business. The transaction, which is scheduled to close by 30 June, 2000, is subject to regulatory approval. The agreed purchase consideration is C$80 million, subject to agreed adjustments. The purchase will be funded from debt facilities available to the company.

This is the second deal Computershare has done with Montreal Trust. Computershare announced on 20 April, 2000 that the company would purchase the Stock Transfer business of Montreal Trust and American Securities Transfer and Trust Inc. (AST). This deal will now close by 30 June, 2000.

"This is a natural extension of our earlier deal with Computershare. The Corporate Trust business and Stock Transfer business components, while strong on their own, enjoy a great deal of synergies, particularly from the customer point of view." said Bob Chisholm, President, Montreal Trust.

"We are pleased to acquire Montreal Trust's Corporate Trust business," said Russ Waterhouse, President and CEO of Computershare Canada. "This deal represents a significant strategic expansion of Computershare's core business while at the same time preserving the product and operational synergies that have prospered at Montreal Trust and in the Canadian marketplace. "

Computershare is the world's largest provider of shareholder and related services, managing more than 50 million shareholder accounts around the world. Headquartered in Australia and operating in seven countries, the company has identified North America as a key market in which to expand its leadership in the global securities market.

Montreal Trust is Canada's leading provider of Stock Transfer and Corporate Trust services, acting as a transfer agent for 62% of all publicly listed companies in Canada. Incorporated in 1889, Montreal Trust operates in all major centres across Canada. In 1994, Montreal Trust became a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotiabank, and a member of the Scotiabank Group.

For further information

Computershare

Canada:

Russ Waterhouse
President & CEO
Computershare Canada
+1 416 860 5857

Tony Wales
Finance Director
Computershare Limited
+1 917 951 3985

Darryl Corney
Computershare Limited
Chief Financial Officer
+61 3 9235 5500

Scotiabank Group

Pam Agnew
Director, Public Affairs
Scotiabank Group
+1 416 866-7238

• "Stock transfer" or "transfer agency" are the terms used in the U.S. and Canada to describe what is known as "registry" or "share registration" in Australia and the UK.



• "Corporate trust" is a term used in Canada to describe a business which involves such services as trustee and/or issuing, transfer and paying agent for debt securities, escrow agent, custodian or safe keeper of shares, software source code or other property. A corporate trust business also provides specialised corporate trusteeship, custodial and agency services supporting such products as asset backed securities, investment trusts and oil and gas royalty trusts.



• The Montreal Trust Corporate Trust business provides services to almost 1500 public and private sector organisations from offices in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

Computershare

• Computershare is incorporated in Australia and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (symbol: CPU) with a market capitalization of approximately A$3.7 billion.



• Computershare's origin was as a technology company servicing the share registration market, and it has seen rapid expansion in recent years into the provision of professional share registration services in Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, South Africa, Hong Kong, United States and Canada.



• Most recent financials were for the six months to 31 Dec, 1999, which reported revenues of A$174 million and EBITDA of A$34.3 million.



• Leading registry clients in Australia include AMP, Colonial, Coles Myer and BHP.



• Leading registry clients in the UK include Halifax, HSBC, British Airways, Marconi, Vodafone and PowerGen.



• Computershare's most recent acquisition, announced in April 2000, was the acquisition of the transfer agency business of Montreal Trust.



• Computershare's other main line of business is the development and licensing of systems for the securities industry including systems for stock exchanges, regulators, brokers and investment managers.



• Refer to the Computershare website - www.computershare.com - for more information on Computershare.

ScotiaBank

• For more information visit www.scotiabank.com.

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