Westpac Banking Corp.'s Additional Tier 1 Capital Notes 7 Issue Rated 'BBB-'

MELBOURNE (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 5, 2020--S&P Global Ratings today said it has assigned its 'BBB-' issue credit ratings to Westpac Banking Corp.'s (WBC; AA-/Negative/A-1+) proposed Additional Tier 1 Capital Notes 7 (CN7). We rate WBC's CN7 four notches below WBC's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) of 'a'. The starting point of the SACP reflects our view that it is unlikely that the Australian government's support for WBC and other Australian banks--if needed--would extend to hybrid capital instruments issued by the banks. To arrive at the rating on the WBC CN7, we deduct four notches from WBC's SACP reflecting the following factors: One notch for the notes' subordinated status; Two notches for the risk of partial or untimely payment; and One

...November 4, 2020 MELBOURNE (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 5, 2020--S&P Global Ratings today said it has assigned its '###-' issue credit ratings to Westpac Banking Corp.'s (WBC; ##-/Negative/A-1+) proposed Additional Tier 1 Capital Notes 7 (CN7). We rate WBC's CN7 four notches below WBC's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) of 'a'. The starting point of the SACP reflects our view that it is unlikely that the Australian government's support for WBC and other Australian banks--if needed--would extend to hybrid capital instruments issued by the banks. To arrive at the rating on the WBC CN7, we deduct four notches from WBC's SACP reflecting the following factors: - One notch for the notes' subordinated status; - Two notches for the risk of partial or untimely payment; and - One notch for a nonviability contingent capital feature that would require WBC to convert all or a proportion of the notes into ordinary shares or write them off if a nonviability trigger event occurred. We have assessed the proposed...

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