Weekly briefs

ANZ buys online brokers, Apple Fields faces penalty interest, Oyster Bay latest, Consumer Credit law review.

Sunday, July 4th 1999, 12:00AM

ANZ Bank has moved into the online share trading business through a strategic alliance with E*Trade Australia. Under this deal ANZ will own up to 40 per cent of E*Trade and E*Trade will gain access to ANZ's 4 million-strong customer base.
The agreement effectively places E*Trade Australia in a highly competitive position in the online financial services industry and will substantially enhance its objective of being the market leader within the next 12 months.

ANZ is likely to heavily push online trading as its eligibility for equity in E*Trade is directly related to the take-up among its client base.
ASB Bank recently bought sharebrokers Warburg Dillon Read.

Penalty interest for Apple Fields
Apple Fields is likely to have to pay penalty rates on the Rural Super Bonds scheme as it is behind schedule with interest payments.
Currently the Super Bonds scheme is being wound up under the direction of the trustee, Tower Trust (formerly Trustees Executors).
The company is selling its properties in Christchurch to repay capital of $11.9 million to 1300 bondholders.
According to the trustee Apple Fields is about $1.2 million behind in interest payments.
TEA and Apple Fields sought declaratory judgments in the High Court at Wellington last week to sort out some issues relating to the wind-up. It is understood the court was being asked to determine who controlled the winding-up process, as well as who has first priority for repayment.
TEA also sought a cross-collateralisation of mortgage proceeds. It wants to be able to credit surpluses, where properties are sold for more than the mortgage, to sales where the mortgage exceeds the sale price.

Oyster Bay closing
People wanting to invest in the Oyster Bay Marlborough Vineyards offer need to have their applications in by Friday July 9.
The Oyster Bay offer is the first stage in a strategy to publicly float the Delegat's Group. Oyster Bay shareholders will have a preferential entitlement to subscribe for 30 per cent of a future public offering.
Delegat's chairman Robert Wilton says the response to the Oyster Bay offer has been encouraging.
For an investment statement click here.
To find out more about the offer click here.

Credit law review
The Government has announced plans to review New Zealand's inefficient and outmoded consumer credit laws.
It says the current laws can impose unnecessary compliance costs on lenders and business borrowers, they are, under some provisions, unfair to consumers, difficult to enforce, complex and fragmented.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs will be leading the review of the legislation, focusing on the relevance of existing laws and the scope for simplifying them, ways to strengthen compliance and enforcement, and identifying specific legislative provisions that cause detriment.
More information is available from www.consumer-ministry.govt.nz

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