Christchurch

Wellington

The current global financial crisis is not likely to be as destructive to emerging markets as the Asian economic crisis of the 1990s, according to a report by Standard & Poor's Fund Services.

FNZ has signed up Peter West to the newly formed position of national business development manager.

The government is extending its Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme by a further 14 months to December 2011, hoping that the world economy will have recovered enough by then for finance companies, in particular, to get back on an even keel.

Wellington

The deepest recession in more than 30 years has failed to dent New Zealanders' appetite for KiwiSaver, according to the latest update by the tax department.

Economic reports show that wholesale interest rates have come back a little in the past week which should take some of the upward pressure off home loan rates. ASB continues to suggest the OCR will be cut next week while Westpac is recommending borrowers reduce their principle in the current low interest rate environment.

General Finance has reported an increase in the provisioning for bad loans in its finance company, but also an increase in the quality of its book.

The deepest recession in more than 30 years has failed to dent New Zealanders' appetite for KiwiSaver, according to the latest update by the tax department.

The threat of receivership hanging over embattled finance company St Laurence Ltd. probably won't spill over to St Laurence Property & Finance, according to Kevin Podmore, a director of both companies.

Auckland

Bank of New Zealand is being coy on whether it plans to start dealing with mortgage brokers again.