call me a monkey: bought at 16.40

Sydney - Thursday - February 5: (RWE Australian Business News) -
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) expects profit for the year ending March
31 to be about $900m after allowing for an additional $900m of
writedowns and impairment charges in the second half (after $1.1bn worth
in the first half).
The group achieved a net profit attributable to ordinary equity
holders of $1.8bn for the 2008 year.
Operating income for the year is expected to be down 15pc
(before impairments) from the previous year's $8.25bn.
The outlook remains subject to swing factors previously
identified, including market conditions, asset realisations, completion
rate of transactions and asset prices.
Speaking at Macquarie's operational briefing in Sydney today,
managing director and chief executive Mr Nicholas Moore said global
market conditions remained exceptionally challenging.
Macquarie's business groups, however, were busy and continuing
to pursue new opportunities arising from market conditions.

*****

Mr Moore noted the critical importance of balance sheet strength
for all financial institutions at this time.
Since September 30, Macquarie has continued to strengthen the
group's balance sheet funding and liquidity, completing around $21bn
(gross) of funding initiatives.
These include:
* $9.1bn of planned reductions in low-yielding funded assets
achieved since September 30 to date, bringing the total to $13bn;
* total deposits increased by $1.4bn to $18.1bn with retail
deposit growth particularly strong; and
* term funding of $10.9bn issued to date since introduction of
the government guarantee scheme Cash & liquid assets of $32.1bn
significantly exceed short-term wholesale issued paper of $12.7bn.
The group's regulatory capital position remains strong with a
$2.9bn buffer of capital in excess of minimum capital requirements.

*****

The CEO said that despite current market conditions, Macquarie
was well-placed in the medium term.
"The fundamental business is sound and Macquarie continues to
deliver the highest quality service to clients, and expects to attract
new clients in these challenging markets. Despite a scarcity of capital
in the world, we continue to support our clients' capital needs and
provide opportunities and products which are of value to them."
Mr Moore said that while Macquarie's investment in its balance
sheet incurred some short-term cost, it ensured the group was
well-positioned to take advantage of value-accretive opportunities.
He noted that the group remained active across businesses and
geographies.
"Opportunities for organic growth and acquisitions are being
identified across the group. Yesterday, Macquarie Cook Energy announced
the acquisition of Constellation's downstream natural gas trading
operation in the US," Mr Moore said.