On Dec. 7, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AA-/A-1+' counterparty credit ratings on four major Australian banks: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB), and Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC). The ratings outlook on each of the major banks remains stable, despite their growth ambitions and profitability prospects moderating with the slowdown in the property market. Three of Australia's four major banks all reported solid improvements in underlying profitability in fiscal 2004 on the back of a favorable operating environment characterized by strong consumer asset credit growth and good asset quality. The exception is NAB, whose business franchise has suffered from the emergence of a number of
