MELBOURNE -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 2/16/98 -- Standard and Poor's today affirmed its double-'A'-minus long-term and 'A-1'-plus short-term counterparty ratings on Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), and Westpac Banking Corp. (Westpac), as well as its double-'A' long-term and 'A-1'-plus short-term ratings on National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB). At the same time, Standard&Poor's revised the rating outlook on ANZ to negative from stable. The rating outlooks on the other major banks remain stable. The revision of ANZ's rating outlook reflects Standard&Poor's view that ANZ's exposures to higher-risk Asian markets could result in weakened asset quality and profitability over the short to medium term. At Dec. 31, 1997,
