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The collapse of finance companies is hurting New Zealand businesses by starving them of investment, says a government taskforce.
So how do businesses get people to lend them money so they can grow? The government has just been given some high-powered advice.
A high-powered panel has spent 18 months asking why New Zealand companies, big and small, are hungry for funds and lays a lot of blame on finance company failures.
Rob Cameron from the Capital Markets Development taskforce says trust and confidence are easy to lose and hard to gain.
"What we think you do to regain trust and confidence is you start with the recommendations," he says.
The recommendations include plain language statements about how risky an investment is and a new watchdog to replace the Securities Commission, Stock Exchange and Companies Office.
The taskforce also says the government should sell stakes in its businesses to mum and dad investors.
Investment writer Mary Holm says that means putting small portions of State Owned Enterprises on the stock exchange.
"That'll give people a nice solid company to invest in, something they know they can trust and it'll be around," she says.
It is not yet National's policy, though, and acting Prime Minister Bill English says there will not be any assets sold this term.
He says if the policy changes, National will campaign on it.
The Prime Minister will be talking about the other ideas early in the new year, suggesting they could be picked up sooner.
