Macquarie Bank announces formation of new funding vehicle for group subsidiaries

27 July 2004

Macquarie Bank (MBL) today announced the formation of Macquarie International Finance Limited (MIFL), a new funding vehicle for MBL subsidiaries.

The formation of MIFL is a result of new regulatory requirements by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) limiting the level of intra-group exposure which MBL may have  to subsidiaries that are not eligible for inclusion in the MBL Extended Licenced Entity (ELE).  Entities classified as being part of the MBL ELE are considered in substance by APRA to be part of MBL itself.

Confirmation of which subsidiaries will be classified as being non-ELE is yet to be finalised with APRA. However, they are expected to include funds management and securitisation management subsidiaries as well as certain overseas subsidiaries.

MIFL, together with MBL to the limited extent permitted by APRA requirements, will be responsible for meeting the funding requirements of non-ELE subsidiaries. MIFL has been rated A3/P1 by Moody’s Investors Service, A-/A1 by Standard & Poor’s and A/F1 by Fitch Ratings.

MIFL is a wholly owned subsidiary of MBL and has $400 million of share capital. The subsidiaries which MIFL will provide funding to represent some of MBL’s most prominent businesses and operate under MBL’s risk management and control framework including market risk, liquidity risk, credit risk and operational control.

For further information, please contact:

Greg Ward
Chief Financial Officer
Macquarie Bank Limited
Tel: (612) 8232 3543

Matthew Russell
Public Relations
Macquarie Bank Limited
Tel: (612) 8232 4102
Mobile: (614) 1069 9532