MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 24, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has affirmed its 'AA-' long-term rating and 'A-1+' short-term rating on Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) and ANZ Banking Group (New Zealand) Ltd. (ANZ(NZ)) following ANZ's announcement to acquire The National Bank of New Zealand Ltd. (NBNZ) for A$4.915 billion. The outlook on ANZ's and ANZ(NZ)'s long-term ratings remains stable. ANZ's full-year operating profit after tax result for fiscal 2003, which was up 8.3% to A$2.348 billion on the previous year, was within Standard and Poor's expectations and consistent with the affirmation on the bank's ratings. At the same time, NBNZ's 'A+/A-1' ratings have been placed on CreditWatch with positive implications, as
