On 03 March 2010, Westpac Banking Corporation's (Westpac) common stock price increased 13.6%, achieving our target price due to robust 1Q 10 results reported by the bank. Furthermore, going forward we expect banking credit to continue its growth due to recovery in economic conditions. In addition, the recent hike in interest rates by the bank will help to sustain its Net Interest Margin (NIM)....

The Australian economy grew by 0.5% y-o-y in 3Q 09 at a faster pace than 0.4% in 2Q 09 and 0.3% in 1Q 09. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is upbeat on Australian economic recovery and in November 2009 expected GDP to grow by 1.18% in 2009, followed by 2.75% in 2010 and 3.25% in 2011. Furthermore, the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) increased 2.5 points to 51 in January 2010 from 48.5 in December which indicates…

On 21 August 2009, Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) released its 3Q 09 trading update. Although impairment charges increased significantly, cash profits were stable in 3Q 09, reflecting growth in lending. However, exposure to stressed assets has increased over the quarter, which provides for risk of further write-downs. In the light of this and given current price levels, we maintain the Westpac common stock a HOLD. We will reassess our common stock rating for Westpac…