Macquarie Bank Deputy Chairman Mark Johnson announces his retirement from the Macquarie Bank Board and executive responsibilities

12 March 2007

The Deputy Chairman of Macquarie Bank, Mr Mark Johnson, today announced his intention to retire from executive responsibilities at the Bank, effective 31 March, 2007.

Mr Johnson intends to remain on the Macquarie Bank Board until the conclusion of the Bank’s 2007 Annual General Meeting in July, at which time he will retire from the Board. Mr Johnson is the second longest serving member of the Macquarie Bank Board.

Macquarie Bank Chairman, Mr David Clarke, praised Mr Johnson’s considerable contribution to the Bank’s success. “Mark has made an outstanding contribution not just to Macquarie Bank, but also to Australian business over the last 40 years. He is widely respected as one of the most accomplished and experienced corporate advisers in Australia. His contribution to the Macquarie Bank Board has been immeasurable.”

Mr Johnson joined Macquarie Bank’s predecessor, Hill Samuel, in 1971 as Joint Managing Director with David Clarke. He left Australia to join Hill Samuel’s London office in 1977.  In 1981, he returned to Australia and became founding director of Australian Bank until 1986, when he rejoined Macquarie Bank as Chairman of its Corporate Services Division. He was appointed to the Board in February 1987.

Mr Johnson also announced his intention to retire as Chairman of the ASX-listed Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG).

When Messrs Clarke and Johnson joined Hill Samuel in 1971, the company had 12 employees. Macquarie Bank now employs approximately 10,000 people in 24 locations worldwide and is a significant Australian-based exporter of financial services.

Investors in Macquarie Bank have enjoyed an annual compound internal rate of return of approximately 29% since the Bank was formed in 1985. This means that an investment of $10,000 in Macquarie Bank shares in 1985 is worth approximately $2,635,000 today .

Mr Johnson thanked his colleagues at the Bank and his fellow Board Directors for their support during his career at Macquarie Bank. “I have had forty years in the banking industry and it is time for me to leave. I will regret leaving Macquarie where I have enjoyed my business life and where I have many friends.

“My immediate focus will be on my responsibilities as the Chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council when APEC 2007 meets in Sydney later this year and in my continuing roles of Chairman of AGL Energy Limited and EngeneIC, a private biotech company. “

Mr Johnson is Chairman of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute Limited and a governor of the Institute for International Trade at the University of Adelaide.

For further information, please contact

Lisa Jamieson
Public Relations
Macquarie Bank Limited
Tel: (612) 8232 6016
Mobile: 0416 237 332

Jenny Kovacs
Investor Relations
Macquarie Bank Limited
Tel: (612) 8232 3250
Mobile: (614) 1354 6547