Political pressure placed on ING

Politicians are stepping into the debate over ING’s rescue package for its CDO fund investors, just days before the final deadline looms.

Monday, July 13th 2009, 5:47AM

Investors in the Diversified Yield and Regular Income Funds have until 5pm Monday to decide which of the various options to accept. The most favourable, from an investment perspective, also has the requirement that investors have to waive away their legal rights.

Labour commerce spokesman and former Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel says ING should drop the clause and be a "good corporate citizen."

She says "the fish-hook in the deal is investors are being forced to sign away their right to take further legal action against ING" while the Commerce Commission determines whether these funds were missold.

"The obligation is now on ING to be a responsible corporate citizen and do what is right for its customers, and drop the condition cutting off the ability to take legal action as far as it relates to the Commerce Commission investigation and any subsequent proceedings.

She has also threatened to draft a Private Members' Bill to reinstate these legal rights "allowing investors to gain the benefit of any legal action or settlement arising if the Commerce Commission finds any wrongdoing."

Dalziel says it's not fair that people have to take their chances on accepting a deal that would prevent them benefiting from any action that could follow a finding that ING had breached its statutory obligations.

"If ING has clean hands then it will have nothing to lose from this approach, because they will be confident that they will be cleared at the end of the investigation," Dalziel said. If not, that begs the questions, why is the partial compensation offer to its investors so tightly formulated and why should it be protected from legal action?

"The ANZ Bank has already agreed to allow claims lodged with the Banking Ombudsmen by the end of this month to stand, despite the terms of the release from liability in the ING offer. ING should now do the same with respect to the Commerce Commission's investigation."

Meanwhile Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has also waded into the debate. The Sunday Star Times reports that he has written to ANZ bank and ING urging them to withdraw a legal indemnity clause in the offer.

Dunne says he is making this request as a constituency MP, not as a minister.

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