MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) April 24, 2002--Standard&Poor's said today it has affirmed its double-'A'-minus long-term and 'A-1'-plus short-term counterparty credit ratings on Australian-based Westpac Banking Corp. (Westpac), following the group's announcement that it will acquire Rothschild Australia Asset Management Ltd. for approximately A$323 million. The combined entity will have A$33.7 billion of funds under management. While this transaction adds critical mass to the bank's funds management operations and is consistent with its long-held strategic direction, it does weaken core capital in the short term. "Helping to offset this fact in the near term is the possible sale of the AGC business, funds from which could be used to return the bank's capital to preacquisition levels," said Jason Hill,
