Policy on trustees & statutory supervisors
Last year, the Commission updated its policy on trustee and statutory
supervisor approvals. Key changes to the Commission's policy are as
follows:
No person will be approved to act as a trustee or statutory supervisor for
an unlimited duration. The maximum duration of any approval will be
five years.
All trustees and statutory supervisors will be required to provide an
undertaking that they will report to the Commission on:
any occurrence or change in matters material to the Commission's
approval of that person (including, in the case of companies, any
changes to the company's board or shareholders); and
in any event on an annual basis to the Commission by 1 March of
each calendar year as to whether there has been any occurrence or
change in matters material to the Commission's approval of that
person.
In line with the updated policy, we intend to revoke under section 48(4) of
the Act all existing approvals to act as a trustee/statutory supervisor. Those
who are currently approved to act as a trustee/statutory supervisor have
been invited to re-apply, and the Commission is considering their
applications. |
Statutory management for property buy-back schemes
Eight finance and property companies were placed into statutory management
last month.
This action was recommended by the Securities Commission.
The companies, CH Finance Limited, ICMG Leasing Limited, The
Independent Creative Management Group Limited, Toi Te Atatu Limited,
Sleinad Finance Company Limited, Opol Limited, ICMG Holding Limited,
and ICMG Property Company Limited, were involved in housing 'buy-back'
schemes. PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Auckland have been appointed statutory
managers.
Statutory management is used only where the Government is satisfied that:
the companies are, or may be, operating fraudulently or recklessly;
it is considered necessary to protect the interests of creditors or the wider
public interest;
it is necessary to prevent further deterioration of the companies' finances.
The Securities Commission recommended the action on the basis that these
grounds had been met. The purpose of statutory management is to limit the
effects of any fraudulent or reckless act or activity and to provide for the
companies' affairs to be dealt with in an orderly way.
A special Executive Council approved the order at midday on Friday, 20 June
2003. The matter was considered urgently because a tender process involving
10 properties was about to be completed.
The Minister of Commerce, Lianne Dalziel, urged home owners affected by
this or any similar 'buy-back' scheme to come forward. "There may be other
companies that are involved that we don't know about. We can't investigate
unless complaints are made," she said. |
|
International
experts to assess
New Zealand's
financial
regulatory
framework
New Zealand's financial regulatory
framework will come under scrutiny by
international experts in October in the
most comprehensive external
assessment of the financial sector ever
undertaken.
The assessment is part of the Financial
Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP)
developed by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank. Sixty-six countries have already
been assessed.
The FSAP assesses a country's financial
systems, in particular the adequacy of
the regulatory frameworks for financial
stability. It aims to identify aspects in
the financial systems which are
potentially vulnerable.
The New Zealand FSAP has five
modules - banking supervision,
securities market regulation, payment
systems, anti-money laundering
framework and the transparency of
monetary and financial policies.
The FSAP team will assess how well our
securities law and regulations work in
practice and whether they improve the
quality of our markets. It will look for
any flaws in New Zealand's regulatory
arrangements and suggest
improvements.
The FSAP team will consult relevant
ministries and regulators and is also
likely to talk with market participants,
industry representatives and relevant
professional bodies.
FSAP experts use international
standards and codes as benchmarks.
For the securities sector the relevant
benchmark is the Objectives and
Principles of Securities Regulation
developed by the International
Organisation of Securities
Commissions.
These objectives and principles address
the protection of investors, and aim to
ensure that markets are fair, efficient
and transparent. They also aim to
reduce systemic risk.
(continued page 4) |
