MELBOURNE -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 9/10/96 -- Standard&Poor's today has raised its long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings for Australia&New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corp. (Westpac) to double-`A'-minus/`A-1+' from single-`A'-plus/`A-1'. Also upgraded to double-`A'-minus/`A-1+' from single-`A'-plus/`A-1' are the ratings assigned to Esanda Finance Corp. Ltd. (Esanda), ANZ Banking Group (New Zealand) Ltd. (ANZ(NZ)), Australian Guarantee Corp. Ltd. (AGC), Challenge Bank Ltd. (Challenge), and Trust Bank New Zealand Ltd. (TBNZ). At the same time, the rating outlooks for ANZ, Westpac, and related entities have been revised to stable from positive. The claims-paying ability rating on Westpac Life-NZ-Ltd. also has been raised to double-`A'-minus from single- `A'-plus. Australia&New Zealand Banking Group
