(25 March 2008 – Global) The five big Australian banks will all record a significant windfall from the floating of VISA in the United States.ANZ was the first bank to declare how much it will gain from the float, declaring that it would post a pre-tax figure of $A350 million from its presold and ongoing shareholdings.
Westpac announced a pre-tax gain of approximately $A270 million, which includes the proceeds from the portion of its holding sold into the IPO, along with the fair value of the residual shares held under trading restrictions.
The Commonwealth Bank then announced that it expects a pre-tax gain of approximately $A355m. This gain represents the proceeds from the sale of 51 percent of the Group’s Visa shares into the IPO at the issue price of US$44 per share, as well as the residual shares.
While yet to disclose, it is suggested that NAB will show gains as high as $A200 million including the shareholdings held by its Australian, New Zealand and British subsidiaries. UBS analysts have also indicated that St George will make $A75 million from its stake.