MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Oct. 26, 2012) - National Bank's (TSX:NA) Wealth Management division announced today that it has completed the final step in fully integrating Wellington West into its operations, with the sale of the Wellington 39-advisor MFDA dealership to Manulife Financial.

"Over the last year we have worked to successfully bring Wellington West's 170-IIROC-licensed investment advisors and their clients onto the National Bank platform. Today we completed the final step in this integration process, which was to dispose of Wellington West's MFDA dealership, a non-core business which does not fit into our long term strategy", said Luc Paiement, Executive Vice President, National Bank Wealth Management. "With this integration completed, and with the 82 IIROC-licensed investment advisor network which we acquired from HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. in 2011 about to be fully integrated into our platform, our Wealth Management platform is well positioned for future growth."

About National Bank of Canada

With $180 billion in assets as at July 31, 2012, National Bank of Canada ([ www.nbc.ca ]), together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups, and was named among the five strongest banks in the world by Bloomberg Markets. The Bank has more than 20,000 employees and is widely recognized as a top employer. Its securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:NA). Follow the Bank's activities via social media and learn more about its extensive community involvement at [ clearfacts.ca ] and [ commitment.nationalbank.ca ].

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