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Ducks Unlimited Canada Signs Agreement With MBNA Canada 
OTTAWA, Jan. 05 - Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) signed a seven-year licensing agreement today with MBNA Canada to issue the Ducks Unlimited Canada MasterCard. Each time the card is used, a contribution is made to support wetland and upland conservation in Canada.
"The long-standing, successful relationship that MBNA has had with our sister organization in the United States gave us great confidence in the quality of customer service that would be delivered to our DUC cardholders,'' says Don Young, executive vice president of DUC. "As Canada's leading conservation company, DUC will work closely with MBNA to market this product as 'Canada's Conservation Credit Card'.''
DUC has already benefited from the Ducks Unlimited, Inc., agreement with MBNA in the United States. Adds Young, "contributions made by MBNA through DU cardholders in the U.S. are an integral part of the significant dollars sent north each year to help fund Canadian habitat programs.''
MBNA Canada Bank, based in Ottawa, recently received approval to do business in Canada. ``We have hired 50 people to work in our Ottawa office,'' says MBNA Canada president P.J. O'Dwyer. ":As the business grows, additional people will be hired to support MBNA's high quality customer service, marketing and other operational areas.''
An aggressive marketing program is planned for both the 150,000 DUC members and supporters, as well as the general public. A 1995 Angus Reid survey found that 75 per cent of Canadians know the DU name and over 50 per cent of those people knew what the organization does -- conservation.
"We saw Ducks Unlimited Canada as one of the premier affinity groups for entry into the Canadian market,'' adds O'Dwyer. "Their strong marketplace presence is one of the essential components for the development of a solid affinity relationship. In addition, the more than 5,300 DUC conservation projects that span the country and over 860 urban and rural fund-raising events each year provide excellent daily awareness of the DUC name.''
MBNA Corporation, a bank holding company and parent of MBNA Canada Bank, has $46.2 billion in managed loans. MBNA, the largest independent credit card lender in the world, and one of the two largest overall, also provides retail deposit, consumer loan, insurance and card acceptance services.
Ducks Unlimite Canada has over 1,000 retail products and services available to the general public through licensing agreements with leading manufacturers and service providers. Ducks Unlimited Canada is a private, nonprofit charitable organization, dedicated to conservation of wetlands for the benefit of North American waterfowl, wildlife and people.
