On April 20, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services announced a change in the application of its notching criteria for certain hybrids issued by Australian regulated financial institutions and insurers. These instruments contain narrow earnings tests, which link the payment of a coupon to the existence of profits in the previous financial year. For investment-grade issuers, Standard&Poor's previously rated these instruments three notches below the senior debt rating on the issuer, but Standard&Poor's will now typically assign a rating two notches below the issuer senior debt rating. This change has led to the upgrade of several existing hybrid issues, which are detailed in the list below. The reasons for the change in the application of the
