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Banking & Finance

Room for optimism amid bank numbers

PATTRICK SMELLIE - BusinessDesk

OPINION: When banks make profits we hate them, and when they don't, we fear their power to destroy our financial wellbeing.

Quake fails to shake AMI

ALAN WOOD - © Fairfax NZ News

AMI Insurance boss John Balmforth says the insurer was ahead of budget in the three months to September 30, despite the September 4 earthquake.

Hubbard investors face reduced payout

Hubbard investors could receive only 60 per cent of what they were previously told they would get.

Death of South Canterbury Finance

South Canterbury Finance traded on a proud history. Jenni McManus investigates the final hours before its demise.

ANZ faces legal fight over exception fees

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group says it will vigorously defend a class action suit by customers for recovery of bank fees.

Dorchester boosted by capital raising

Bolstered by a $10.3 million capital raising, Dorchester Pacific is ready to go shopping for struggling finance companies.

South Canterbury's credit rating downgraded

BY TIM HUNTER - © Fairfax NZ News

South Canterbury Finance has had its credit rating downgraded to CC with a negative outlook by Standard & Poor's.

Push for end to Aorangi statutory management

Aorangi Securities investors are being urged to write to Commerce Minister Simon Power requesting statutory management of the company be terminated.

Budget Loans wrongly charges interest and fees

An Auckland lender which charged customers $15 for a "welcome letter" after it acquired a loan book from a rival has been fined $30,750, for breaching the Fair Trading Act.

NZF Group's mortgage issue popular

NZF Group's $100 million residential mortgage backed securities offer has closed, with institutional investors' strong interest encouraging the financial services firm to aim for another issue later this year.

Kiwibank keeps AA minus rating

Standard & Poor's assesses the chances of a privatisation of Kiwibank as low and is keeping its AA minus rating of the state-owned bank unchanged as a result.

Class action proposed to recover bank fees

BY ROELAND VAN DEN BERGH - © Fairfax NZ News

Banks have defended their penalty fees as "fair and reasonable", after it was revealed they face a lawsuit targeting potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in fees.

SCF holds BB rating for now

Troubled South Canterbury Finance (SCF) and international ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) may not see eye to eye on SCF's bundle of "bad loans".

Court gives Blue Chip investors hope

A Court of Appeal decision allowing an appeal by elderly Blue Chip investors Bruce and Dorothy Bartle has widespread ramifications for other investors, their lawyer says.

Two hands left up seeking SCF package

Two investors are interested in South Canterbury Finance's $500 million bundle of bad and property loans.

AMP seeks watchdog's approval for AXA takeover

AMP is formally applying for Commerce Commission approval to buy the AXA Asia Pacific business in a deal which would give the combined group more than 40 per cent of the corporate superannuation market in New Zealand.

New finance regulator to be created

The Government is creating a new regulator for New Zealand's financial markets, Commerce Minister Simon Power announced tonight.

TSB passes $4b deposit milestone

Taranaki's own bank is continuing its spectacular growth, with more than $4 billion now on deposit.

ANZ saw Feltex in decline

ANZ saw that troubled carpet maker Feltex was in rapid deterioration well before its collapse, according to a senior bank executive.

Kiwi banker loses Lehman employment case

A high-flying New Zealand banking executive has lost a court case in which she alleged sexist Japanese bosses hounded her out of a $578,000 a year job in London.

Disclosure rules urged for finance firms

BY CATHERINE HARRIS - © Fairfax NZ News

A Massey University researcher has called for finance companies and other non-bank deposit takers to be required to make regular and simplified disclosures.

Lender's failure may spark lawsuits for ANZ

ANZ faces two lawsuits totalling A$285 million (NZ$371m) over its role in the collapse of stock lending company Primebroker Securities.

Extended guarantee for SCF 'a major milestone achieved'

South Canterbury Finance has been granted an extended Crown deposit guarantee, which is critical for its survival.

'Insolvent' developers face bankruptcy

BY JENNI MCMANUS - © Fairfax NZ News

Two high-profile Auckland property developers, who owe creditors $130 million. face bankruptcy after the High Court refused to ratify a scheme with their creditors.

SFO begins finance company probe

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating Capital + Merchant Finance more than two years after the finance company failed, owing investors about $165 million.

Ex-media boss digs up funds management role

BY GARETH VAUGHAN - © Fairfax NZ News

Former MediaWorks boss Brent Impey, currently on gardening leave from the media world, is to become a director of the Paul Glass-owned Devon Funds Management.

Banker's life of sex, booze and fraud

BY DAVID GADD - © Fairfax NZ News

A prostitute has walked away with $2.5 million spent by a banker stealing clients' money.

IRG's McEwen to advise Huljich

Huljich Wealth Management has appointed Investment Research Group (IRG) chief investment officer David McEwen as an external consultant to its investment committee.

Financial adviser code changes 'need transition time'

BY CATHERINE HARRIS - © Fairfax NZ News

Financial advisers are concerned that there will not be enough time for them to comply with new legislation.

Strategic sale an option says receiver

Strategic Finance's receiver says the finance company's assets could be sold to an outside party, but that receivership work on Strategic's troubled loan book is the immediate priority.

SCF may rescue Strategic

Embattled South Canterbury Finance could be a white knight for the 13,000 investors in Strategic Finance but a rapid rescue is unlikely, says sharebroker Chris Lee.

Lehman execs 'may have been negligent'

Investment bank Lehman Brothers used accounting gimmicks and had been insolvent for weeks before it filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, but there was not extensive wrongdoing, a court-appointed examiner has found.

Huljich fund gives clients exit offer

The directors of embattled Huljich Wealth Management have asked the Securities Commission to vet a letter they propose sending to the fund's investors.

Crown's guarantee windfall

BY JAMES WEIR - © Fairfax NZ News

The Government will pocket about $290 million in fees from big banks using the wholesale funding guarantee, which will close at the end of April, the Government says.

Court action against commissioner over investment adviser role

Court proceedings have been filed against Commerce Commission member Donal Curtin over his role as an investment adviser.

Alarm over adviser law change

BY NICK CHURCHOUSE - © Fairfax NZ News

Contrary to aspirations to be a financial services hub, proposed regulations may make New Zealand a "laughing stock" in international investment circles, experts say.

OrbitRemit makes it cheaper to send money abroad

BIG MONEY: OrbitRemit has signed a deal with China Post China's official postal service with about 400 million account holders that lets it transfer money to its 46,562 branches.

BY CLAIRE MCENTEE - © Fairfax NZ News

The global money-transfer business is a world away from selling property, but three Wellington real estate agents are making a go of it.

PGC set to roll over loan to SCF

Pyne Gould Corporation cornerstone shareholder George Kerr is prepared to renew the $75 million loan to South Canterbury Finance – "all going well".

Credit rating reduced for SCF

Embattled South Canterbury Finance has had its credit rating lowered by Standard & Poor's to BB after the company reported a $154.9 million half-year loss this week.

Hanover and United irregularities reported to authorities

BY CATHERINE HARRIS - © Fairfax NZ News

Allied Farmers' managing director has reported some irregularities in the books of Hanover and United Finance to authorities.

Impaired asset provisions raised as interim profit falls

Rural lender PGG Wrightson Finance has posted a $3.3 million after-tax profit, 30 per cent lower than the previous half-year's $4.7m.

GPG prioritises value for investors

Investment company Guinness Peat Group may have a plan to "return value" to shareholders before this year's annual meeting, after suffering a 36 million (NZ$78.6m) loss in the 2009 financial year.

Belt-tightening reduces bad debt

BY JAMES WEIR - © Fairfax NZ News

Bad debts are becoming much less of a problem for ANZ Bank, with fewer people struggling to pay their mortgages and credit card bills as the economy emerges from recession.

ANZO boss to oversee changes before exit

BY CATHERINE HARRIS - © Fairfax NZ News

Commercial office investor AMP NZ Office Trust has announced the departure of its chief executive and a raft of changes to make its management more transparent.

PGC in good spot to secure Marac goals

Pyne Gould Corporation would like to have secured a higher credit rating and a banking licence for subsidiary Marac Finance by this time next year.

KiwiSaver regulation 'very poor'

A KiwiSaver ratings agency has slammed New Zealand's disclosure system after a top-ranking fund manager admitted its performance had been affected by top-ups from the managing director.