Rates Round Up

Equitable to take up the government's extended guarantee; Commerce Committee pushes out deadline for finance company inquiry; TrustPower considering entering the retail bond market; Pyne Gould shakes up boardroom.

Monday, November 2nd 2009, 5:19AM

Equitable to take up the government's extended guarantee
Equitable has confirmed it will apply for the government's extension to the retail deposit guarantee, joining South Canterbury Finance and PGG Wrightson Finance.

Equitable will notify the market once it has been accepted, and will remove its Series Nine offer.

The extended guarantee requires deposit takers to hold at least a BB rating from Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investor Services or Fitch Rating Services. Asset Finance was the first finance company to announce it would not take up the government's offer.

Commerce Committee pushes out deadline for finance company inquiry
Parliament's Commerce Committee has pushed out its deadline for submissions into its inquiry into finance company failures.

The MPs will now accept public submissions until November 12, having previously asked for them by October 15.

The committee's inquiry will focus on issues to ensure investors are well-informed and will not provide scope for people who lost money in failed ventures.

TrustPower considering entering the retail bond market
TrustPower is considering entering the retail bond market, and if it does so, would follow in the foot-steps of Contact Energy, which already has some on offer, and state-owned Meridian Energy, which has earmarked some for next year.

If it proceed with the plan, the bonds will be unsecured unsubordinated securities ranking equally with the power company's existing bank lenders. It expects to release more information in the next couple of weeks.

Pyne Gould shakes up boardroom
Pyne Gould, which owns finance company Marac, has announced a boardroom shake-up following the restructuring of its balance sheet through a massive capital raising.

The company will look to restructure its governance, introducing "separate and distinct" boards for PGC, Marac, Perpetual Trust and Perpetual Asset Management. Finance unit Marac will have two independent directors on its board with "strong financial skills and banking experience", while the two Perpetual units will look directors with specialist trustee services and funds asset management skills.

Chairman Sam Maling said Pyne Gould's board will sit at the top of this structure, and will undergo a big shake-up with directors Richard Elworthy, Warwick Steel and Stephen Montgomery will stepping down. Maling will stand down once the shuffle has been completed. He also resigned from his role on PGG Wrightson's board, which Pyne Gould has a holding in.

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