Sydney, Aug 9, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - Australian shares gained this morning with banks leading the way, a positive U.S. lead and after some positive earnings results.

At Midday the ASX200 index has gained 28 points to 6,129 and on the futures market the SPI 200's up 31.

In company news this hour, Adelaide Bank and Bendigo Bank this morning announced their intention to merge and create a $4 billion bank after both companies reported record annual profits this morning. The directors of both companies have declared their unanimous support for the merger. Following the merger, the group would be named "Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited". Adelaide Bank today posted a record $104.3 million profit, up 10.9% on the previous record posted last year. Earlier today, Bendigo unveiled a 15.6% increase in cash profit after tax to $118.5 million for 2006/07, which it said was driven by a robust retail banking performance, a growing diversity of revenues and a strong net interest margin. Adelaide Bank shares are 17.64% higher at $16.94 while Bendigo Bank shares are 2.91% higher at $16.98

The full report is available at the following video and audio links.

Video Link

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/1562GY79


Audio Link

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/59T1W133

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