MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 13, 2014--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.'s (ANZ; AA-/Stable/A-1+) fiscal 2014 first quarter trading update announced by ANZ on Feb. 11, 2014 was consistent with Standard&Poor's current ratings and stable outlook on the bank. Profitability for the quarter was strong by international standards, with the bank announcing an unaudited cash profit of A$1.73 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2013. This performance was 13% higher than the same period of the previous year. Asset quality improved marginally, as indicated by a decline in impaired assets and a lower quarterly charge for new provisions. Capitalization remains consistent with our rating, noting that ANZ
