News Round Up

S&P finance company rating scheme canned, Strategic opens in Chch, Sails notes downgraded, Accountants warming to SOFI.

Monday, January 15th 2007, 6:56AM

Standard and Poor’s has reportedly canned its proposal for a rating service for finance companies due to lack of interest.

It had planned to roll out, this year, a 10-rung scale, specifically for finance companies, however the Sunday Star Times reports it there has been insufficient support from companies and it has been put on hold. Good Returns will provide more coverage of this story in depositrates.co.nz later.

Strategic opens in Chch
Strategic Finance is continuing its growth and expansion with a move into the South Island. The company is opening a Christchurch office has appointed from Mascot employee John Laird as its senior lending executive.

Laird spent 11 years with Mascot Finance, prior to that he spent 22 years with Trust Bank Canterbury. Strategic also has offices in Auckland, Wellington, Sydney and Christchurch.

Sails notes on neg watch

The $91 million Credit Sail CDO investment has had its credit rating put on a negative watch.

Standard & Poor's AAp N.R.i on the 2006-1 credit-linked notes (CLNs) on “CreditWatch with negative implications.”

Accountants warming to SOFI
A software tool to help accountants find finance options for their clients has had a good initial uptake, its developer says.

SOFI (Smart Online Finance) enables accountants to combine their traditional advice to clients, about business finance options, with a multi-lender quotation and application service.

The service is run by the Get Smart network which supplies marketing advice to accountants which helps generate risk and investment referrals for financial advisers from accountants.

Get Smart has been working with software developers to build the Smart Online Finance system since April last year and launched the system in mid-November. More than 20 accounting firms have signed up to the service. Get Smart expects to have more than 100 accredited users by June 2007.

Comment: A not so Ho-Hum announcement
The first Blog for the year is a little different to what I had planned. But when I saw the Bank of New Zealand announcement last week about the departure of its current managing director I changed plans. [MORE].

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