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South Canterbury Finance brochures - Source: ONE News -
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South Canterbury Finance (SCF) has registered a new prospectus and is reiterating that it intends to apply to participate in the extended crown deposit guarantee scheme.
The prospectus is for secured debentures and unsecured deposits. Debenture rates vary from 4.5% for three months to 8.5% for 60 months with a special of 8% for 24 months.
SCF has been operating since 1926 and was accepted under the New Zealand Deposit Guarantee Scheme on November 19, 2008.
Chairman Allan Hubbard says the company intended applying to participate in the extended deposit guarantee scheme announced by the Government on August 22.
It needed to meet certain eligibility criteria and be accepted for participation in the extended scheme by the Secretary to the Treasury.
"There's a couple of hurdles they'll need to leap for that, one being that they need to maintain a credit rating of over BB and also they have to keep their balance sheet and maturities in order," says MacQaurie Private Wealth analyst Scott Aucutt.
The company has been without a registered prospectus for two months and Hubbard on Tuesday thanked investors and customers for their patience.
"We have had to attend to a number of matters in recent weeks which caused delays in the registration of the prospectus," he said.
SCF said last week said it will repay its $US100 ($NZ135) million private placement facility over 5.5 months.
The finance company has been talking to investors in the facility after a credit rating downgrade triggered a right for them to require repayment three months following the downgrade.
Unwinding currency swap hedges on the facility will release cash for SCF.
Aucutt says South Canterbury Finance is offering attractive rates to entice investors and keep those investors who have had money in trust awaiting the prospectus registration.
SCF's owner, Southbury Group, has appointed Forsyth Barr and
Harmos Horton Lusk as advisers to assist in the restructuring and
recapitalisation of the group. This process is ongoing.
