The 'AA/Stable/A-1+' issuer credit ratings on Australia-based major bank, Westpac Banking Corp. (Westpac) reflect our expectation that the bank will remain among the strongest banks, globally, based on key earnings metrics, earning stability, and asset quality. This is also underpinned by the bank's very strong business profile in its key and main domestic markets of Australia and New Zealand. We expect that the global economic downturn is likely to have a fairly benign impact on the Australian economy, resulting in only a mild and short recession in the country. Furthermore, we believe that the Australian banking sector's less fiercely competitive environment relative to some global peers has contributed to less risky lending standards, reflected in lower loan-to-value ratios in the
