National Bank Mutual Funds and Altamira Rewarded at 2008 Lipper Fund Awards

Montreal, April 3, 2008 – National Bank is proud to announce that two of its subsidiaries, National Bank Securities and Altamira Investment Services, earned top honours at the 2008 Lipper Fund Awards ceremony on April 2. The Lipper Fund Awards program highlights funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to their peers. The Lipper Fund Awards are awarded to funds in 21 countries in Asia, Europe, and North America.

“We are very proud to have many of our funds included among the Lipper Leaders. It reflects our commitment to offer our clients products that stand out within the mutual fund industry,” stated Martin Lavigne, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank Securities. “It also demonstrates the quality and diversity of the product offering available to National Bank and Altamira clients,” Mr. Lavigne added.

The funds recognized by Lipper are shown below.

Name of Fund	Category	Period
National Bank Quebec Growth Fund	Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity	1 year
National Bank Mortgage Fund	Canadian Short Term Fixed Income	2 year and 5 year
Altamira Japanese Opportunity Fund	Japanese Equity	1 year
Altamira Short Term Canadian Income Fund	Canadian Short Term Fixed Income	1 year
Altamira Growth and Income Fund	Canadian Equity Balanced	3 year
AltaFund Investment Corp.	Canadian Equity	5 year
Altamira Precision U.S. Currency Neutral	U.S. Equity	5 year
Altamira Global Discovery Fund	Emerging Markets Equity	10 year
Altamira Science and Technology Fund	Science and Technology Equity	10 year

Lipper, a Reuters company, is a global leader in supplying mutual fund information, analytical tools, and commentary. Lipper’s benchmarking provides a trusted guidepost to asset managers, fund companies, financial intermediaries, traditional media, websites, and individual investors.

The complete line of National Bank Mutual Funds is available from advisors at National Bank branches. Investors and Bank clients can also obtain National Bank products through TelNat Telephone Banking Solutions (1‑888‑483-5628), National Bank Direct Brokerage (www.nbdb.ca or 1‑800‑293‑6637), and from investment advisors and financial planners across Canada.

All Altamira funds are available directly from Altamira (1‑888‑ALTAMIRA or www.altamira.com) and through National Bank Direct Brokerage (www.nbdb.ca or 1‑800‑293‑6637).

About National Bank of Canada
National Bank of Canada is an integrated group which provides comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services to its clients elsewhere in the world. The National Bank offers a full array of banking services, including retail, corporate and investment banking. It is an active player on international capital markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. National Bank has more than $120 billion in assets and, together with its subsidiaries, employs 16,856 people. The Bank’s securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (NA:TSX). For more information, visit the Bank’s website at www.nbc.ca.

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Information (The telephone number provided below is for the exclusive use of journalists and other media representatives.):

Denis Dubé
Director, Public Relations Department
National Bank of Canada
Tel.: 514-394-8644