MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 15, 2013--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.'s (ANZ; AA-/Stable/A-1+) 2013 first quarter trading update was consistent with Standard&Poor's 'AA-' long-term issuer credit rating on the bank. Our outlook on ANZ is stable. ANZ's first quarter profitability was broadly in-line with rating expectations. The bank's unaudited cash profit for the three months to Dec. 31, 2012, of A$1.53 billion was 6.2% higher than the corresponding period last year. Asset quality for the quarter was sound and also was in-line with expectations, noting that total impaired assets declined slightly. The bank's capitalization remains consistent, in our view, with our current ratings. Noteworthy is the progressively increasing
