In the aftermath of last year's corporate restructure Macquarie Group has almost $3 billion of excess regulatory capital that could be deployed for growth or to take advantage of a strategic opportunity. Outgoing Macquarie chief executive Allan Moss said the bank had a history of seizing opportunities in challenging conditions. Some of its most significant acquisitions, including BT Australia and ING's Asian securities business, were made during periods of market turmoil.Moss said Macquarie's business had continued to perform well in the months since the announcement of the group's interim result in November. Macquarie is on track to report full year earnings to March 2008 of around $1.8 billion, an increase of 20 per cent over 2007.He said the group had no unusual trading exposures, no unusual concerns with credit exposures and no unusual trading write-downs. Overall business activity was reasonable. Macquarie raised $5 billion in its specialist fund operations during the December quarter, most of it going into unlisted international funds. Assets under management were up two per cent from $224 billion in the September quarter to $228 billion.Not everything has gone Macquarie's way. Moss said he was surprised by the extent of the downturn in the listed property trust market. That downturn has left Macquarie with a number of investments in property securities whose market value is well below book value.At January 31 Macquarie was down $68 million on its holding in the Macquarie Office Trust, $66 million down on its holding in J-REP Co and $65 million down on its stake in Macquarie CountryWide.CEO-elect Nick Moore said one option Macquarie had under consideration was using its funds to take advantage of market weakness and delist some of its property and other listed trusts.There has been a strong shift in investor demand from listed to unlisted securities.  This has been driven by the trustees of large superannuation funds, who do not need liquid assets and prefer not to hold assets that are re-priced daily.Macquarie will report lower earnings from its mortgage business, which operates in Europe and North America as well as Australia.Moss said credit quality was good and Macquarie had steered clear of the sub-prime market in the US.  The problem was access to funding and the cost of funds.The shortage of supply in the debt market would also put a brake on Macquarie Capital's activities. Moore said less than two per cent of Macquarie Capital's managed assets would have to be refinanced in the coming year and another 15 per cent over the next three years.Moore said another area Macquarie was exploring was investing in discounted and distressed debt. He said: "We are evaluating it but we would go in very cautiously."