Canterbury firm Perpetual Trust is one of three companies whose application for a licence to act as a corporate trustee is still being considered by the Financial Markets Authority.

A corporate trustee is appointed to look after investors' interests for certain securities or investments such as those offered by credit unions, building societies and finance companies, and for unit trusts, and to look after the interests of residents of retirement villages.

Earlier, the FMA announced that nine firms had been granted licences to act as trustees and statutory supervisors for securities and investments.

Perpetual was not one of them and the company later confirmed its application was one of three still being considered.

The FMA has until September 30 to make a decision, when Perpetual's temporary licence expires.

At the time Perpetual applied for a corporate trustee licence, it was also being investigated by the FMA.

The investigation was triggered when the watchdog was told of a $28 million loan, authorised by Perpetual parent Pyne Gould Corporation, from one of Perpetual's smaller funds, the Perpetual Cash Management Fund, to the Torchlight fund, run by Pyne Gould's 76 per cent controlling shareholder George Kerr.

The High Court has confirmed that the FMA has grounds to suspect a potential breach of Perpetual's duties as trustee and a possible breach of s58 of the Securities Act 1978.

Under the Securities Trustees and Statutory Supervisors Act 2011, securities trustees and statutory supervisors now have to be licensed. Those acting as such on October 1 last year were deemed to have a temporary licence until the end of September this year.

They had to apply for a full licence to the FMA.

The successful licencees are:

* Anchorage Trustee Company Limited

* BDO Auckland Trustee Company Limited

* Covenant Trustee Company Limited

* Covenant Trustee Services Limited

* New Zealand Permanent Trustees Limited

* Public Trust

* Statutory Supervisors Southern Limited

* The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited

* Trustees Executors Limited.

Five companies withdrew their licence applications, three applications are still being considered and one application was declined - from Auckland company Prince and Partners Trustee Company..

FMA head of compliance monitoring Elaine Campbell said: "In reviewing each applicant, FMA has ensured every director and senior manager is of good character, that they are registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR), that they have the relevant experience, skills and qualifications to do the job, and robust and detailed procedures for ensuring compliance of each supervised interest."

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