Following a review under Standard&Poor's revised bank criteria (published Nov. 9, 2011), we have lowered our long-term issuer credit rating on Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) to 'AA-' from 'AA'. The 'A-1+' short-term rating is affirmed. The outlook is stable. Our ratings on subsidiaries of ANZ have also been lowered following our review (see Ratings List). Our ratings on ANZ reflect the anchor SACP for a bank operating mainly in Australia; plus the bank's strong business position, its adequate capital and earnings, risk position, and liquidity; average funding; and potential government support. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that: ANZ's Asian regional strategy will be well managed; risk-adjusted capital ratios will remain adequate by our
