Comsec acquires TD Waterhouse

RNS Number:1485K
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
17 April 2003




COMMSEC ACQUIRES TD WATERHOUSE


Sydney, 15 April, 2003: CommSec, Australia's leading online broker, today
announced that it has acquired the Australian retail brokerage operations of TD
Waterhouse Investor Services.


TD Waterhouse is a subsidiary of Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada, and has a strong
record of innovation in enhancing customer service through leading-edge online
technologies.


Michael Katz, Group Executive responsible for CommSec, said that the acquisition
represented a good opportunity. "This is a very sound acquisition for the Bank,"
Mr Katz said.


"TD Waterhouse has demonstrated its success in attracting and retaining premium
clients.


"For this reason, the TD Waterhouse client base, and the staff of the company,
are a very natural fit from both a product and service perspective. Our
organisations are culturally similar, our clients are similar, and we both share
a customer service mindset and technology leadership."


Mr Katz said that CommSec had shown leadership in the retail stockbroking market
since its formation almost eight years ago. Its strategic positioning in the
Premium Financial Services division of the Commonwealth Bank enabled CommSec to
achieve greater leverage from the acquisition.

"We are confident that the Commonwealth Bank's strong financial services
platform, including CommSec's premium offerings, is well positioned to meet the
needs of TD Waterhouse's customers," he said.


Mr Katz said that given the strategic fit of the two brokerages, cost synergies
were likely to flow from the acquisition.



ENDS


Further Information:
Bryan Fitzgerald
Group Corporate Relations
Commonwealth Bank
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]










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