MELBOURNE (Standard & Poor's) Sept. 27, 2004--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has affirmed the 'AA-' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term counterparty credit ratings on Credit Union Services Corp. (Australia) Ltd. (CUSCAL). The rating outlook is stable. The ratings on CUSCAL are underpinned by its leading market position in the provision of financial services to the Australian credit union sector, strong asset quality, and its improved quality of underlying earnings. In addition, CUSCAL's strategic imperative of concentrating on core activities has helped to restore greater stability in the company's earnings and growth. The A$28.1 million after tax earnings in fiscal 2004 was underpinned by a core operating result of A$10.5 million, supplemented by profits generated by CUSCAL exiting
