ING Bank of Canada announced that it has entered into agreement to acquire First Marathon Mortgage Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada.

The completion of the acquisition of FMMC is subject to various conditions. The transaction is scheduled to close May 31, 2002.

“This move dramatically accelerates ING Bank of Canada’s expansion into the mortgage market generally, and more specifically into the growing mortgage broker market,” said Paul Bedbrook, president and CEO, ING Bank of Canada.

“As well as securing another channel to satisfy our growing balance sheet requirements for mortgage assets, we will be able to provide a mortgage product for our existing broker network while expanding our product offering to independent brokers and Financial Planners.”

FMMC is one of Canada’s leading providers of residential mortgage origination and mortgage loan administration services to major financial institutions and pension fund clients.

“FMMC has built the infrastructure needed to operate a mortgage banking and servicing business,” continued Bedbrook. “We can now bring our operational and financial resources, as well as our general brand awareness, to maximize the financial and operational performance of the FMMC business and infrastructure.”