(6 April 2010 – New Zealand) South Canterbury Finance Limited has been approved to by the Crown to participate in the Extended Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme.The new scheme will provide all eligible investors with the benefit of the Crown’s guarantee until 31 December 2011.
When the extended guarantee scheme comes into effect at the end of the current Retail Deposit Guarantee a number of changes will occur, most significantly for investors is a reduction to the maximum sum covered to NZ$250,000 (A$191,000).
Welcoming the Crown’s decision, South Canterbury Finance’s chairman, Allan Hubbard, said the acceptance was a major milestone for SCF.
The company is pleased it has met the qualifying criteria for inclusion in the extended guarantee scheme. It is a further acknowledgement of the strides the Company has taken in recent months to retain a Standard & Poor’s ‘BB’ credit rating, increase capital, restructure, improve governance, purge the loan book, and reorganise the business into three divisions covering performing loans, impaired assets and investments.
SCF regards acceptance into the extended guarantee scheme as a seal of approval. It is the next step in the journey back towards the company’s traditional role as a source of funding to support economic growth, Mr Hubbard added.
South Canterbury Finance’s chief executive officer Sandy Maier, said that the acceptance of the Company into the extended guarantee scheme will allow the offer of a diversified suite of longer term and new deposit products. These will provide an orderly transition for the company, investors and the Crown from the guarantee scheme and provide a stable long term funding base.