Auckland (18 January 2007) - The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Board today announced that it intends to appoint Northern Trust as its new custodian. This appointment is subject to finalising satisfactory contractual arrangements.

David May, Chairman of the Board of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, said: "Our key aims in carrying out the review were to re-examine the best available custody services in the light of the Fund's planned growth and development, and to ensure the continuing contestability of this key appointment. The process was comprehensive and competitive. It was supported by Thomas Murray, a global custody advisory specialist.   The considerations included custody, reporting and accounting services, pricing and the strength of the team and technology platform supporting those services. Those criteria were examined against the Fund's growth, changing asset allocation and, in particular, its increasing diversification into private markets.

We are confident that the services provided by Northern Trust will provide the Fund with a robust, independent global custody service that meets international best practice standards." 

Northern Trust will assume custodial responsibility for the Fund's assets from 1 July 2007.  As of 30 November 2006, the value of the Fund was NZ$11.5bn and the Fund currently has a total of 37 investment managers.

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For more information please contact:

David May, Chairman, New Zealand Superannuation Fund, 027 429 2134

Notes to Editors:

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust Corporation is a leading provider of investment management, asset and fund administration, fiduciary and banking solutions for corporations, institutions and affluent individuals worldwide. Northern Trust, a multibank holding company based in Chicago, has a growing network of 84 offices in 18 U.S. states and has international offices in 12 locations in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. As at 30 September 2006, its financial performance includes US$55 billion in banking assets, US$3.3 trillion in assets under custody and US$667 billion in assets under management. For more information visit www.northerntrust.com