UPDATE 1-Macquarie buys Ford Australian car-loan portfolio

(Adds Ford Credit Australia as seller of portfolio, background)

SYDNEY Oct 1 (Reuters) - Australian investment bank Macquarie Group (MQG.AX) has agreed to buy a A$1 billion ($868 million) portfolio of car loans from Ford Credit Australia, which is exiting the retail car loan business in Australia.

Ford Motor Credit, a subsidiary of U.S.-based automaker Ford Motor Co (F.N), had said in January that it planned to stop originating retail loans and leases in Australia at the end of February, but would continue to service the portfolio.

The portfolio consists of loans and leases on about 60,000 cars and the company told employees on Thursday that it had reached the agreement to sell the portfolio to Macquarie and expected to service it in transition through year end.

Overall, Ford Motor Credit had $65.5 billion worldwide in retail contracts as of the end of December.

The automaker's finance arm in Australia continues to offer floorplan financing to some 200 dealers in Australia. ($1=1.1515 Australian Dollar) (Reporting by Mark Bendeich in Sydney and David Bailey in Detroit; Editing by Jonathan Standing and Richard Chang)