MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) May 17, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its 'AA-/A-1+' counterparty credit ratings on four major Australian banks: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd., and Westpac Banking Corp. The outlook on each of the major banks remains stable. Standard&Poor's views the 'AA-' rating on each of the Australian major banks as solid, reflecting their strong business and financial characteristics. "We regard the four major banks in Australia among the strongest of all our domestically rated corporations," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Craig Bennett, Financial Services Ratings. "Some aspects of their business profiles are weaker than several 'AA' category rated international
