Rates Round Up

Allied Farmers further writes down Hanover book
Allied Farmers has written down the value of the Hanover loan books by a further $33.6 million to $51.5 million, with a third of the assets still waiting for revaluation.

That leaves the net value of the Hanover books at about $124 million, down from $175.5 million in the December financial statements. Since writing down the loan books' value at the end of last year, Allied clawed back some $3.4 million from property sales near Queenstown and New South Wales.

Forsyth Barr division gets BB rating from Fitch
Forsyth Barr Cash Management, an investment advisory and funds management division of broker Forsyth Barr, has been rated BB by Fitch Ratings with a stable outlook.

The ratings agency said the Forsyth Barr division has a "consistently sound" financial performance, and the low risk nature of its activities meant it was unlikely to need material support if it ever got into difficulty.