SBS Bank's March quarter profit nearly halved because of provisions against unquantifiable potential losses from the Christchurch earthquake while its mortgage book shrank slightly.

Geneva Finance, has gained a formal waiver of its banking covenant breach and has increased its reported annual net loss to $8.6 million after deciding to write off its $2.4 million deferred tax asset.

Economist Rodney Dicken's theory that the Reserve Bank should aim to maintain its official cash rate (OCR) at a neutral level through the business cycle isn't finding any support from other economists.

Fisher & Paykel Finance has decided to do without the government guarantee of its retail debentures more than six months before it has to.

Yet another company in the St Laurence group, St Laurence Property Development Fund, is about to collapse with Perpetual Trust warning it will seek to appoint liquidators on June 30.

Funding and liquidity remain key issues for Heartland Building Society and, on the face of it, its maturity profile looks awful with its acquisition of PGG Wrightson Finance only making the picture look even worse.

Basing monetary policy on economic forecasts is a fundamental flaw in the way the Reserve Bank operates, says economist Rodney Dickens.

Heartland Building Society would like to remove itself from the government's retail deposits guarantee scheme before it officially expires on December 31 if it feels its depositors are ready, says group treasurer Craig Stephen.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has ordered GFNZ Group, formerly Geneva Finance, to stop issuing debentures while it investigates the breach of its banking covenant revealed in GFNZ's results late yesterday.

Heartland Building Society is to buy PGG Wrightson's finance company for a nominal amount of about $100 million although the net cash position will see Wrightson forking out $2.5 million.

Geneva Finance, has reported a $6.2 million net loss for the year ended March after writing off a further $7.4 million off its pre-July 2007 loan book.

Heartland Building Society is to buy PGG Wrightson's finance company for a nominal amount of about $100 million although the net cash position will see Wrightson forking out $2.5 million.

Former Bridgecorp managing director Rod Petricevic has failed in his latest appeal against being denied legal aid.

NZF Group says it is in the final stages of mutual due diligence with an unnamed Australian private company which is expected to take a majority stake in NZF's home loan division.

Allied Farmers has staved off receivership by extending the due date of $7.5 million owed its former finance company from July 1 to March 31 next year.

Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard is likely to raise interest rates sooner than previously signaled, having become more comfortable the economy is recovering and becoming more concerned about the inflation outlook.