LONDON -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 01/18/96 -- Standard&Poor's affirms its long- and short-term counterparty ratings of single-`A'- plus/`A-1' for Australia&New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), double- `A'/`A-1'-plus for National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB), and single-`A'- plus/`A-1' for Westpac Banking Corp. (Westpac). At the same time, the triple-`A' local currency and double-`A' foreign currency long-term and the `A-1'-plus short-term counterparty ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) are also affirmed (See list). The rating outlooks are affirmed for ANZ and Westpac at positive, and for CBA and NAB at stable. Competition in Australian banking continues to heighten with pressures being felt on both sides of the balance sheet. Non-bank financial institutions are making inroads into retail
