Australia& New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. raised A$900 million ofAdditional Tier 1 capital in a note offering for existing holders ofconvertible preference shares.

The offeringis part of a plan to raise about A$1 billion of AT1 capital by issuing newnotes to eligible holders of convertible preference shares, in addition tobrokers and institutional investors.

Holders of A$900 million of old convertible preference sharesopted to swap them for the new securities at face value, the bank said Sept.23. The AT1 notes will be issued Sept. 27.

Those preferred shares will cease trading on the Australianstock exchange. The bank has an estimated 10.7 million preference sharesoutstanding.

As of Sept. 22, US$1was equivalent to A$1.31.