Equitable euthanised

The company said the decision to invite its trustee to appoint a receiver was deemed as a prudent step by its board because it didn't consider the company could continue for long as a going concern.

It seems the main trigger for the receivership was the company's inability to cope under the new regulatory regime.  "While the company preferred an orderly scaling down of its activities, this cannot be readily achieved under the current regulatory regime," Equitable said.

 Earlier this month Equitable Mortgages completed a restructuring that was mainly aimed at meeting the related party exposure norm.

Equitable Mortgages terminated the Equitable Property Mortgage Fund (EFMF) which was a group investment fund that invested in registered first mortgages. EPMF obtained its funding from Equitable Mortgages which raised money from the public through the issue of debentures.