MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 25, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has affirmed its 'AA' and 'A-1+' ratings on Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) and its core subsidiaries. The affirmation follows ANZ's announcement of its A$1,760 million acquisition of ING Group's 51% shareholdings in the ANZ-ING wealth-management and life-insurance joint ventures (JV) in Australia and New Zealand. "The affirmation is based on our view that the proposed acquisition is not considered to be a risky or unrelated business, and that it is not expected to significantly affect the bank's capital and funding positions," Standard&Poor's credit analyst Derryl D'silva said. Despite the potential for an increase in credit losses and impairment expenses,
