The Edinburgh-based bank has played down suggestions it will sell the West Australian bank if it achieves 100 per cent ownership. For HBOS to get the most benefit, including cheaper funding, out of total ownership of BankWest it will need to get a strengthened credit rating for the WA bank. HBOS already owns 57 per cent of BankWest, which provides its own credit rating benefits, but Standard & Poor's reported on May 12 that a further upgrade would depend on its "assessment of the long-term strategic commitment that HBOS shows to BankWest and evolving evidence of increased integration", which will take time.