Westpac Banking Corp.

Strong market position in the Australian and New Zealand retail and commercial banking sectors. Conservative risk appetite, backed by a sound risk-management framework. Highly likely to receive timely financial support from the Australian government, if needed. Material dependence on domestic and offshore wholesale borrowing. Exposed to risks from still high house prices and private sector debt. S&P Global Ratings' outlook on Westpac Banking Corp. (Westpac) is stable, reflecting our expectation that the bank will maintain solid operating performance, low credit losses, and strong capital levels in the next two years. In our base case, we expect relatively modest growth in house prices and household debt in the next two years. We expect that the improvement in economic risks should be

...Outlook: Stable S&P Global Ratings' outlook on Westpac Banking Corp. (Westpac) is stable, reflecting our expectation that the bank will maintain solid operating performance, low credit losses, and strong capital levels in the next two years. In our base case, we expect relatively modest growth in house prices and household debt in the next two years. We expect that the improvement in economic risks should be sustained over the next two years notwithstanding recent softening in our forecast for real GDP growth. We also expect that, if needed, the authorities would use macro-prudential tools to prevent a rapid buildup of imbalances through the recurrence of strong growth in property prices or private sector debt....

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