MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 3, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Westpac Banking Corp.'s (AA-/Stable/A-1+) strong full-year profit result reflected solid performance across all business units, reasonable growth dynamics, and the resilience of net interest margins in a competitive market. Particularly solid earnings growth was achieved by BT Financial group and Business and Consumer Banking divisions, which benefited from rising revenues with minimal expense growth. Full-year net profit available to equity holders was up 11% to A$2,818 million, with growth in underlying cash earnings up 12% to A$2,874 million. "With increased capital levels at balance date and moderate growth expectations, Standard&Poor's believes Westpac is able to absorb the proposed share buyback of A$700 million or
