From Banking Day, today:
"Bank of Queensland is hoping for an uplift in it's credit rating to A from its current level of BBB+, the bank's chief executive, David Liddy, told The Australian.
"I don't think we're far away from being an A-rated bank," Liddy said, noting that Credit Union Australia was recently upgraded to BBB+, though BoQ has a much larger balance sheet and distribution.
Liddy also foreshadowed work to prepare the bank for a transition from working out capital requirements under the standardised model used by small banks and to a version of the advanced model used by large banks (and also Macquarie), and which may result in the bank having to hold lower levels of capital for the same business risks.
Any shift requires the impramatur of APRA, and perhaps two to three years work by the bank and its advisers to reform management reporting systems.
Asked by the newspaper about the prospect of reviving merger talks with Bendigo Bank, Liddy said: "We are not in discussions with Bendigo, but my view is it still makes sense, provided there is a guarantee you get to an A rating."
Bendigo Bank turned down a bid from BOQ in early 2007 and merged with Adelaide Bank later that year."
