ARMS II Fund VIII A$726.0MM Rated 'AAA' By Fitch.

Business Editors

SYDNEY, Australia & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2000

ARMS II Fund VIII's A$726.0 million amortising, pass-through, floating-rate tranche 1 and tranche 2 bonds are rated `AAA' by Fitch.

In addition, the $24.0 million tranche 3 bonds are rated 'AA-'. This is the tenth securitised issue of notes backed by a residential mortgage pool from Australian Mortgage Securities Ltd. (AMS) ARMS II program and the eighth Australian issuance. The notes will be issued by Permanent Custodians Ltd. (the trustee and issuer) in its capacity as trustee of ARMS II Fund VIII. The fund is an individual trust fund created under the master trust deed for ARMS II funds.

The ratings assigned to the tranche 1 and tranche 2 bonds are based on: the subordination (3.2%) of the tranche 3 bonds; the quality of the collateral; the 100% primary mortgage insurance policies, including 24 months timely payment cover provided primarily by `AA' rated GE Capital Mortgage Insurance (Australia) Pty Ltd, `AA' rated CGU Lenders Mortgage Insurance Ltd, and PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd; the cash reserve of 0.25% of the total principal balance; and a sound legal structure. The rating assigned to the tranche 3 bonds is based on the above except for subordination.

As of the cut-off date, the pool serving as collateral for the bonds consists of 4,509 mortgage loans, with a total outstanding balance of approximately $747.8 million. All the mortgages are first-ranking mortgages over residential property originated by mortgage originators for the benefit of AMS in the ordinary course of AMS's business. All loans have the benefit of primary mortgage insurance.

The average principal loan balance was $A165,854, with a weighted average original loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 76.1% and weighted average current LVR of 73.4%. Approximately 52.4% of the properties are owner occupied.

The presale report dated Sept. 1, 2000 for ARMS II Fund VIII is now available on Fitch's web site at `www.fitchratings.com'.

Fitch is an international rating agency that provides global capital market investors with the highest quality ratings and research. Dual headquartered in New York and London with a major office in Chicago, Fitch rates entities in 75 countries and has some 1,100 employees in more than 40 local offices worldwide. The agency, which is a combination of Fitch IBCA and Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co., provides ratings for Financial Institutions, Insurance, Corporates, Structured Finance, Sovereigns and Public Finance Markets worldwide.