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Report Date : |
29.10.2013 |
IDENTIFICATION DETAILS
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Name : |
GENERAL EQUITY BUILDING SOCIETY |
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Registered Office : |
Level 4, General Equity House, |
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Country : |
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Financials (as on) : |
31.03.2013 |
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Date of Incorporation : |
10.10.2007 |
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Com. Reg. No.: |
BLDSOC 2008105 |
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Legal Form : |
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Line of Business : |
Trustee and manager of the General Equity Building Society Asset Builder
Fund 1. |
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No. of Employees : |
2 employees |
RATING & COMMENTS
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MIRA’s Rating : |
Ca |
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RATING |
STATUS |
PROPOSED CREDIT LINE |
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11-25 |
Ca |
Adverse factors are apparent. Repayment of interest and principal sums
in default or expected to be in default upon maturity |
Limited with
full security |
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Status : |
Moderate |
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Payment Behaviour : |
Slow |
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Litigation : |
Clear |
NOTES:
Any query related to this report can be made
on e-mail: infodept@mirainform.com
while quoting report number, name and date.
ECGC Country Risk Classification List – March, 31st, 2013
|
Country Name |
Previous Rating (31.12.2012) |
Current Rating (31.03.2013) |
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A1 |
A1 |
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Risk Category |
ECGC
Classification |
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Insignificant |
A1 |
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Low |
A2 |
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Moderate |
B1 |
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High |
B2 |
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Very High |
C1 |
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Restricted |
C2 |
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Off-credit |
D |
Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New
Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market
access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally.
This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes - but left behind some at the
bottom of the ladder - and broadened and deepened the technological
capabilities of the industrial sector. Per capita income rose for ten
consecutive years until 2007 in purchasing power parity terms, but fell in
2008-09. Debt-driven consumer spending drove robust growth in the first half of
the decade, helping fuel a large balance of payments deficit that posed a
challenge for economic managers. Inflationary pressures caused the central bank
to raise its key rate steadily from January 2004 until it was among the highest
in the OECD in 2007-08; international capital inflows attracted to the high
rates further strengthened the currency and housing market, however,
aggravating the current account deficit. The economy fell into recession before
the start of the global financial crisis and contracted for five consecutive
quarters in 2008-09. In line with global peers, the central bank cut interest
rates aggressively and the government developed fiscal stimulus measures. The
economy posted a 2% decline in 2009, but pulled out of recession late in the
year, and achieved roughly 2% per year growth in 2010-12. Nevertheless, key
trade sectors remain vulnerable to weak external demand. The government plans
to raise productivity growth and develop infrastructure, while reining in
government spending.
|
Source
: CIA |
Verified Address
Subject name : GENERAL
EQUITY BUILDING SOCIETY
Business address : Level 4,
General Equity House
17 Albert Street
Town : Auckland
Central
Province : Auckland
Zip/postal code : 1010
Country : New
Zealand
Tel : +64
9 3039255
Fax : +64
9 3531928
Email :
info@general-equity.com
Website : www.general-equity.com
Registered address : Level 4,
General Equity House
Town :
Province :
Zip/postal code : 1010
Country :
Postal address :
Town :
Province :
Zip/postal code : 1143
Country :
Executive Summary
Date founded or registered : 10/10/2007
Legal form :
Chief executive :
Mark Bayoud
Issued & paid up capital : USD
5,921,587
Sales turnover : USD
2,059,712 (Non-Consolidated 12 months, 31/03/2013)
Net income : USD
1,492,375 (Non-Consolidated 12 months, 31/03/2013)
Total fixed assets :
USD 8,824,186 (Non-Consolidated 12 months, 31/03/2013)
Line of business : Trustee
and manager of the General Equity Building Society Asset Builder Fund
1.
Staff employed : 2
employees
Company Analysis
Country risk : Country
risk is minimal
Operation trend : Operational
trend is declining
Management experience : Management
is inadequately experienced
Financial performance : Financial
performance is fair
Organisation structure : Organisational
structure is flawed
Detrimental : Some
detrimental records found
Payment history : Payment
punctuality is undetermined
Credit amount suggestion : Fully
secured terms.
Credit amount asked : Not
described.
Comments : It is strictly
advisable not to conduct any business dealings or investments with the Subject
as the credibility of the Subject’s investments and operations are
questionable.
Registry Data
Registration date : 10/10/2007
Legal form : New
Zealand Building Society
Registration no BLDSOC
2008105
Registered authority : Registrar
of Building Societies
Fiscal/ Tax no : FSP
No.: FSP177744
Other registration no : Bankers
Almanac ID: 234501
Registry status : Live/Active
Previous name : None
reported.
Change of legal form : None
reported.
Key Management
Name : Mark Bayoud
Designation : Director
Name : John Peter
Kortum
Designation : Director
Name : Steven Adrian
Hensen
Designation : Director
Appointments
Name : Murray John
Greer
Designation : Director
Address : 55A Park Rise
Campbells Bay,
Auckland 0630
New Zealand
Name : Mark Bayoud
Designation : Director
Address : 12-16-1 City
Gardens Condominium
Persiaran Raja Chulan
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Wilayah Persekutuan
Malaysia
Name : John Peter
Kortum
Designation : Director
Address : 15, Jalan Bayu
5/1 Bukit Gita Bayu
Serdang
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
Name : Steven Adrian
Hensen
Designation : Director
Address : Malaysia
Name : Ambrose Chan
Designation : Director
Address : Hong Kong
Name : Brian Joseph
McGrath
Designation : Director
Address : Level 2, 492 St
Kilda Road
Melbourne, VIC 3004
Australia
Staff employed : 2 employees
Key Advisors
Auditors : LAWLER DRAPER
DILLON
Level 12, 440 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Australia
Composition
Authorized Capital : USD 5,921,587
No of shares : 1,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares
/ 1,616,273 Class B Ordinary Shares / 6,000,000 Preference Shares
Share par value : No par
value
Issued capital : USD
5,921,587
Paid up capital : USD
5,921,587
How listed : Major
Shareholders Only
Composition
Shareholder name : GENERAL
EQUITY SERVICES (HONG KONG) LIMITED
Address :
Hong Kong
Comments : Our investigations with the
Hong Kong Companies Registry tell us that the majority shareholder above is not
registered as a local entity.
Structure
Name : GENERAL
EQUITY SERVICES LIMITED
Affiliation type : Sister
Company
Address : Level
4, General Equity House
17 Albert Street
Auckland Central 1010
Auckland
New Zealand
Name : GENERAL
EQUITY SERVICES LIMITED
Affiliation type : Sister
Company
Address : Hong
Kong
Name : GENERAL
EQUITY HOLDINGS LIMITED
Affiliation type : Sister
Company
Address : Hong
Kong
Name : GENERAL
EQUITY SERVICES PTE. LTD.
Affiliation type : Sister
Company
Address : 35B
Hongkong Street
Singapore 059674
Singapore
Name : GENERAL
EQUITY HOLDINGS PTE. LTD.
Affiliation type : Sister
Company
Address : 35B
Hongkong Street
Singapore 059674
Singapore
Bank Details
Name of bank : General
Equity Building Society
Address : New
Zealand
Comments : It is
generally not the policy of local banks to provide credit status information to
non related parties, however interested parties
would be advised to consult first with the Subject if banker's references are
required.
Mortgages : None
reported.
Legal Fillings
Bankruptcy fillings : None
reported.
Court judgements : None
reported.
Tax liens : None
reported.
Others : None
reported.
Description
Source of financial statement : Public
Record Sources
Financial statement date : 31/03/13
Type of accounts : Full
audited
Currency : US
Dollar (USD)
Consolidation type : Non
Consolidated Non Consolidated
Currency : US
Dollar (USD) US
Dollar (USD)
Denomination : (x1)
One (x1) One
Date of financial year end :
31/03/13
31/03/12
Length of accounts : 12
months 12
months
Sale turnover / Income : 2,059,712
768,909
Profit before tax : 1,544,421
681,306
Net income : 1,492,375
681,306
Total assets : 8,824,186
8,055,390
Total liabilities : 4,266,693
4,876,194
Share equity : 4,557,493
3,179,196
Retained earning : -1,364,094 -2,856,469
Main activities : The Subject is engaged as a trustee
and manager of the General Equity Building Society Asset Builder Fund 1. It’s
said that the Subject mandate in managing this fund is to write trade finance
business for members and clients located around the world including in the
United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia, China, Asia and Oceania.
The General Equity Building Society Asset
Builder Fund 1 claimed to hold US$6.2 billion worth of investment holdings as
of June 30, 2012. The Fund's annual report says this is an annual increase of
US$758.735 million, with shareholding interests in gold, silver and quarry
assets, plus nickel and refining technology. No specific details of the
investments are provided.
Purchases
Local : None
reported.
International : None
reported.
Sales
Local : None reported.
International : None
reported.
Key events : NZ registered, previously
offshore operating, building society eyes NZ wealth services including
KiwiSaver
September 30, 2013
By Gareth Vaughan
The General Equity Building Society, which
last month told interest.co.nz it was "accountable" to the Financial
Markets Authority (FMA) which the FMArefuted, is now being drawn under the
FMA's umbrella to be monitored for compliance with anti-money laundering laws
following its move to offer investment and retirement advice within New
Zealand.
General Equity's new annual report says its
recently established wealth division, headed by Authorised Financial Adviser
(AFA) Keith Hayes, has "entered into arrangements" with ANZ's One
Path Investments and Life, Partners Life Insurance, and Asteron Insurance.
"This new department will provide
investment and retirement planning, KiwiSaver and risk management (insurance) services
in New Zealand and (the) Asia-Pacific region," the annual report says.
Mark Bayoud, General Equity's Malaysian
resident director of international business, told interest.co.nz last month
General Equity was "comprehensively" regulated by the FMA. Bayoud
said the building society was accountable to the FMA "in every sense that
we provide any service to anyone", via General Equity's disputes
resolution process, by submitting annual audits to the FMA and through
complying with the rules and
regulations, as a financial institution,
that the FMA stipulates.
However, in response to Bayoud's comments
last month an FMA spokesman said: "FMA can confirm that it is not the
supervisor for General Equity Building Society."
"We are aware that they have employed
an AFA and we will be following this up to determine whether supervision of
General Equity should fall under FMA," the spokesman added.
Now the FMA spokesman says the regulator has
become the anti-money laundering supervisor for General Equity.
"This follows General Equity’s
appointment of an AFA and its establishment of a wealth management
division," the spokesman said today. ""As they have an AFA they
would be able to offer personalized (KiwiSaver) advice."
Although incorporated in New Zealand under
the 1965 Building Societies Act, General Equity has been operating overseas.
However, it recently took out naming rights on a downtown Auckland building
which Bayoud said was because it planned to start offering financial services
within New Zealand.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering
Financing of Terrorism Act came into effect on June 30. However, entities
incorporated in New Zealand but offering financial services overseas aren't
supervised by any New Zealand regulator under the Act.
According to Hayes' LinkedIn biography he
has previously worked for ANZ and Westpac, plus several insurers. The biography
says at General Equity he's responsible for "the strategic management and
profitability of a newly established New Zealand wealth management business
with a boutique investment planning offering and an insurance and risk
management advisory service."
According to the annual report, General
Equity had total assets of US$8.8 million at March 31, up from just over US$8
million a year earlier. Total equity was put at US$4.5 million, up from US$3.2
million, member deposits down to US$2.9 million from US$3.4 million, and total
liabilities down to US$4.3 million from US$4.8 million.
Last month Bayoud also said a fund managed
by General Equity, that apparently holds US$6.2 billion in mining assets, is
owned by a small group of Asian businessmen he wouldn't name with the assets
predominantly in Thailand and Indonesia.
General Equity Building Society outlines
what it does, NZ expansion plans, and how it's 'regulated'
August 21, 2013
By Gareth Vaughan
The people behind General Equity Building
Society (GEBS), which is New Zealand registered but operates overseas, chose to
set up here because NZ's a well regulated, quality jurisdiction that's
"cost effective", according to GEBS' Malaysian-based Australian
director of international business. Interest.co.nz sat down with Mark Bayoud,
GEBS' director of international business, and Murray Greer, its chairman, at
the building society's Auckland offices, located in a building that GEBS
recently took out naming
rights on and is now known as General Equity
House.
The interview was in response to questions
interest.co.nz put to GEBS prior to our recent story General Equity, no
ordinary New Zealand building society.
Among things to come out of the interview
Bayoud said;
* GEBS has hired a New Zealand Authorised
Financial Adviser (AFA) and is setting up a wealth division as it moves to
offer financial services within NZ;
* A fund managed by GEBS that purportedly
holds US$6.2 billion in mining assets is owned by a small group of Asian
businessmen and the assets held are predominantly in Thailand and Indonesia;
*GEBS is "comprehensively"
regulated by the Financial Markets Authority
(FMA), something the FMA says isn't the case; *Anthony James Scott, now
described as senior legal advisor to GEBS who used to be both a director and
its secretary, is indeed the Anthony Scott banned by the Australian Securities
and Investments Commission from
managing a corporation for 18 months from
August 2009;
* GEBS is owned by 200-300 members located
in various countries with "quite a few" but not a majority in NZ, and
is "comprehensively and totally" a mutual. And;
* An algae to hydrocarbon project GEBS is
involved in could result in a sharemarket listing.
"We agree with a lot of the intent
behind your articles," Bayoud said. "We see a lot of these (NZ)
offshore financial service providers... masquerading.
They set up and say that they're banks which
is something that we agree should not be allowed. And that's not who we are and
that's who we never intend to be."
"We've actually highlighted to the FMA
maybe four or five (non-compliant finance companies) that we've reported to
them," Bayoud added. Why NZ?
Bayoud said GEBS was often asked why it
chose NZ.
"And we find it very hard to understand
why people keep asking us that because we've looked around. We found New
Zealand was well regulated, it's a quality jurisdiction, the cost of operations
was very cost effective and well in our favour to operate from here," he
said.
"And the question we keep saying is why
not New Zealand? Why would you go anywhere else? If we were to set up in
Australia we'd probably have a 30% or 40% premium on top of our costs."
He added that GEBS was
"comprehensively" regulated by the FMA.
Bayoud said GEBS was accountable to the FMA
"in every sense that we provide any service to anyone", via its
(GEBS') disputes resolution process, by submitting annual audits to the FMA and
through complying with the rules and regulations, as a financial institution,
the FMA stipulates.
Meanwhile Bayoud (pictured left) suggested
GEBS is overseen for compliance with the recently introduced Anti-Money
Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (AML-CFT ACT) by the
FMA as well as the Reserve Bank and Ministry of Internal Affairs, saying
"we work with all of those departments."
He said taking out naming rights on the high
rise, body corporate owned building at number 17 Albert Street in the Auckland
CBD, where GEBS and associated company CBD Office Ltd, a "provider of
tailored office solutions" have offices on the fourth floor, was because
GEBS will start offering financial services within NZ.
"We've employed an AFA who is setting
up a wealth division within General Equity and they're looking to provide
insurance and financial advice to local New Zealanders in a non-deposit taking
environment," said Bayoud. "And at some point in the future we may
decide to become a full deposit taker, at which point we will comply with all
the Reserve Bank requirements."
The AFA is Keith Hayes.
'FMA not the supervisor for General Equity
Building Society'
However, much of what Bayoud says appears to
be news to the FMA.
"FMA can confirm that it is not the
supervisor for General Equity Building Society," an FMA spokesman told
interest.co.nz.
"We are not aware of any tip-offs from
General Equity."
"We are aware that they have employed
an AFA and we will be following this up to determine whether supervision of
General Equity should fall under FMA," the spokesman added.
And nor does the Reserve Bank supervise
GEBS.
"The General Equity Building Society is
not overseen by the Reserve Bank.
It has been declared out of the Non-Bank
Deposit Taker regime," a Reserve Bank spokesman said. "So for
anti-money laundering purposes it isn’t supervised by the Reserve Bank
either."
Interest.co.nz asked the Department of
Internal Affairs whether an entity such as GEBS, which is registered in New
Zealand but isn't a non-bank deposit taker and operates overseas, falls under
its umbrella in terms of oversight for compliance with the AML-CFT Act.
A Department of Internal Affairs spokeswoman
said: "In relation to the jurisdictional issue raised, each business would
be assessed on an individual basis to see if the financial activities are carried
on in NZ. The following factors would be included in this assessment; there is
a physical place of business in NZ which hosts NZ staff and/or an
infrastructure that provides a means to carry out the financial activity in NZ;
the entity actively and directly advertises or solicits business from persons
in NZ to such an
extent that it requires registration under
the Companies Act."
"(But) an entity incorporated or formed
in NZ is not automatically a reporting entity, particularly where it carries on
financial activities wholly outside NZ. An overseas entity that is not required
to be registered under the Companies Act 1993 as carrying on business in New
Zealand is unlikely to be a 'reporting entity' under the AML/CFT Act."
GEBS is incorporated under the 1965 Building
Societies Act.
See more on the AML-CFT Act here in An
undesirable form of regulatory arbitrage.
Billions of dollars of mining assets owned
by '3 or 4 anonymous Asian businessmen'
GEBS says it's the manager and trustee of an
entity known as the General Equity Building Society Asset Builder Fund 1. GEBS
says its mandate in managing this fund is to write trade finance business for
members and clients located around the world including in the United States,
Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia, China, Asia and Oceania.
It says the Fund has US$6.2 billion of
investment holdings comprising gold, nickel, silver, oil and gas refining
technology and granite. Bayoud emphasised these weren't GEBS' assets, saying it
merely "plays a management role" with the value of the assets
determined by the auditor, Ari & Co Chartered Accountants of Kuala Lumpur.
"These are mining assets, predominantly
in Thailand and Indonesia," he said. "This fund does not raise any
money from the public, does not have any offerings to the public, and it's
strictly used for the purposes of backing trade activities."
"The big concern would be when you see
a number like that that it's being used to potentially raise money from the
public and that's just not the case.
It's valuations on assets plus geological
reports, plus actual extractions and things like that."
He said the owners of the assets were a
group of private businessmen in Asia.
"They've wanted to remain anonymous, as
part of them providing that asset for the purposes of supporting trade finance
activity," Bayoud said.
"I believe they're from a combination
of Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia. I think there's three or four
(owners)."
'A building society for SMEs'
In terms of GEBS' core business, Bayoud said
it was a building society for small to medium-sized enterprises. "We're
not a mums and dads type building society, we won't have retail stores. The
main focus of our business began on providing trade and trade
finance services to expand trade and export
and import activity between the (Asia-Pacific) region and that's where we
predominate our business," said Bayoud.
Clients were from Japan, Malaysia, the
United States, Canada and Europe and were involved in exporting and importing.
"They do trade into the Middle East and
quite occasionally into Africa. So our inter-banking relationships (GEBS says
there are more than 100 including with
BNZ's parent National Australia Bank and Germany's Commerzbank), are for those
purposes for issuing and receiving letters of credit."
Murray Greer 'a very shrewd man'
Meanwhile, Greer said he joined as chairman
last October with previous chairman Brian McGrath, the Lord Mayor of the
Victorian town of Horsham from 1974-75, ill. Greer used to be ANZ director of
property and construction finance and was managing director of Rifleman Finance
between 2006-08. Greer also has a consulting business, Park Rise
Consulting Ltd.
Bayoud denied Greer's appointment was
related to the Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill, which had its
first reading in Parliament last July. Commerce Minister Craig Foss says the
Bill, once passed, will require every company registered in New Zealand to have
an NZ-resident agent who will be held responsible if the company fails to
comply with its reporting and record-keeping obligations.
"Murray Greer is a very shrewd man and
he checked us extensively before
he joined us," Bayoud said.
Asked what had attracted him to GEBS Greer,
a member of the Institute of Directors, said he was in the right place at the
right time.
"People knew that I was at a bit of a
loose end so I was approached," said Greer.
Algae to hydrocarbon IPO seen
An algae to hydrocarbon project GEBS is
involved in came about because some of its members decided to invest in a Flinders
University programme, said Bayoud. GEBS had thus far invested "in
excess" of A$5 million to A$6 million. A Hong Kong company named WWCC Ltd,
whose shareholders include some GEBS members, owns the intellectual property
and patents relating to it, Bayoud added.
"At some point it will go for an IPO
(initial public offering) when it's fully justified and operating and
producing."
GEBS was committed to the project and he
expected more investment would be sunk into it.
"At the end of the day it's worth the
risk. It's one of those products that if it does work it will really make a
difference," said Bayoud. Professor Andrew Ball, of the School of Applied
Sciences at RMIT University, told interest.co.nz WWCC and GEBS had funded
research into the production of hydrocarbons by micro algae when he previously
worked
at Flinders University.
"There are some patents owned by WWCC
that have emanated from the work we did then," Ball said. "As for
their significance, well I believe they represent good science and certainly
are proof of concept." However, he said more work was needed to truly
assess the commercial potential of the technology.
"The line of research we are following
presently is to use algae to produce high value pharmaceuticals rather than
biofuels," Ball added. "I think generally there is agreement around
the industry that algae production of biofuels alone does not represent a
viable industry in the foreseeable future. But by coupling production to other
higher value
intermediates (e.g. beta carotene, triterpenoids)
biofuels may be produced as a by-product."
'A NZ financial institution'
Meanwhile, Bayoud said that, although most
of GEBS' owners and directors aren't New Zealanders, with directors aside from Greer
hailing from Australia, Hong Kong and the US, they see themselves as a New
Zealand financial institution. The entity's registered here, and it has its
head office and annual meetings here. Including consultants, Bayoud said GEBS
now has five or six staff in NZ.
"The progression is to create a stable,
steady business in NZ," said Bayoud.
General Equity, no ordinary New Zealand
building society
August 6, 2013
By Gareth Vaughan You're registered as a New
Zealand building society and your
headquarters, a buil ing you've taken out
naming rights on, is located in downtown Auckland.
However, the fourth floor offices that
apparently serve as yours contain brochures at reception promoting casual
office, executive boardroom and meeting room hire. On top of this your client
services manager has a separate business card, also available from reception,
describing her as the operations and marketing manager for CBD Office Ltd, a
"provider of tailored office solutions".
Apparently you don't offer financial
services within NZ, have links to something described as algae to hydrocarbon
intellectual property, and manage a fund that allegedly has US$6.2 billion of
investment holdings comprising gold, nickel, silver, oil and gas refining
technology and granite.
Welcome to the wonderful world of the
General Equity Building Society (GEBS).
Regular interest.co.nz readers may remember
GEBS previously featuring in a story of
ours alongside two other NZ registered, but overseas operating, building
societies in Kiwi Deposit Building Society and Safe and Sound Building Society.
GEBS isn't your typical NZ building society,
which is something akin to a conservative, regional, member owned financial
services provider offering home loans and term deposits.
GEBS has recently taken out naming rights on
number 17 Albert Street in Auckland's Central Business District. This is a high
rise building that's slap, bang next door to the recently refurbished ANZ Tower
which serves as headquarters for the country's biggest bank, - ANZ NZ.
What's now known as General Equity House is
apparently the head office of a financial services provider with
representatives in, or covering, Japan, Ghana, India, Kenya, USA, Cyprus,
Greece, Dubai, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia,
Mozambique and South Africa.
No regulatory oversight
GEBS is registered through the Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment run Building Society Register. It's also
registered on the Financial Services Providers Register, with Financial Services
Complaints Ltd named as its dispute resolution scheme, something that's a
prerequisite if an entity offers, or wants to offer, financial services to NZ
retail investors. However, GEBS was named as one of five entities not regarded
as a
deposit taker under part 5D of the Reserve
Bank of New Zealand Act in late 2011. That means it's not allowed to take
deposits from the NZ public.
It also means it doesn't have to comply with
prudential requirements covering credit ratings, governance, risk management,
capital, related party exposure limits or liquidity.
But it does leave GEBS free to offer
financial services overseas, trading on NZ's good reputation. And the Reserve
Bank says it's not in a position to monitor transactions undertaken by NZ
registered building societies, such as GEBS, that operate in overseas markets.
On its website GEBS says
"currently" no services are provided to people in NZ, and that it's
currently not a deposit taker for NZ residents. However, on a visit by
interest.co.nz to 17 Albert Street, the building society's client services
manager, Annieliza Snow, suggested GEBS
may actually provide services to New Zealanders. But she wouldn't detail them.
Snow, meanwhile, is also the operating and marketing manager for CBD
Office Ltd, whose shareholders and directors
are listed as Mark Bayoud and John Peter Kortum. Kortum and Bayoud are GEBS
directors. According to Companies Office records both are resident in Malaysia.
Along with two other key players at GEBS, Anthony James Scott and Brian Joseph
McGrath - the latter was the Lord Mayor of the Victorian town of
Horsham from 1974-75 - Kortum hails from
Melbourne.
GEBS' website, which offers 5% interest on
term deposits of over US$100,000, says its services include private and
corporate accounts, due diligence services, establishing NZ and international
trusts, trade finance and credit facilities, general insurance services,
instruments verification, and online banking.
The Kiwibank & BNZ connections The
website also offers what it describes as a loaded Visa debit card with
information provided in English and Japanese. GEBS says Kiwibank is the issuer
of the cards.
Asked about this a Kiwibank spokesman told
interest.co.nz the card being promoted by GEBS is a generic pre-paid Visa card
known as a Loaded Everyday card.
"It is a New Zealand Post/Kiwibank
product offered through the Post/Kiwibank network. It carries no credit risk
for the bank or Post, but enables the user to make purchases or services using
their own funds," the Kiwibank spokesman said.
GEBS says it also has a nostro account
service "with National Australia Bank via (NAB's NZ subsidiary) Bank of
New Zealand." A nostro account is a bank account held in a foreign country
by a domestic bank, denominated in the currency of that country. Nostro
accounts can be used to facilitate settlement of foreign exchange and trade
transactions.
A BNZ spokeswoman said she couldn't confirm
whether GEBS was a BNZ client or not due to BNZ's confidentiality policies. In
total GEBS says it has established relationships with over 135 banks, including
additional nostro accounts with Germany's Commerzbank and Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce. It's also connected to SWIFT, or the
Soci ety for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication.
US$6.2 bln of investments in gold, silver,
nickel, quarry assets & refining technology
GEBS is the trustee and manager of an entity
known as the General Equity Building Society Asset Builder Fund 1. GEBS says
its mandate in page managing this fund is to write trade finance business for
members and clients located around the world including in the United States,
Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia, China, Asia and Oceania.
Kortum and Steven Adrian Hensen, another
GEBS director, are listed as
the fund's managers.
The General Equity Building Society Asset
Builder Fund 1 claimed to hold US$6.2 billion worth of investment holdings as
of June 30, 2012. The Fund's annual report says this is an annual increase of
US$758.735 million, with shareholding interests in gold, silver and quarry assets,
plus nickel and refining technology. No specific details of the investments are
provided. In its 2012 financial year GEBS says income generated by GEBS from
trade finance products was US$637,000.
*Pictured right, top left McGrath, right
Kortum, bottom left Scott, right Bayoud.
A building society with a parent company
There are at least four companies affiliated
to GEBS registered with the NZ Companies Office. These are General Equity
Trustee Services Ltd, General Equity Services Ltd, GEAP Ltd, and Nippon Asia
Holdings Ltd. Their directors and shareholders include GEBS directors Bayoud,
Kortum, McGrath and Ambrose Chan, plus other entities and individuals based in
Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the British Virgin Islands.
For the year to March 31, 2012, GEBS says it
made a profit of US$681,306, and had equity of just under US$3.2 million, and
total assets of US$8 million at March 31 last year when member deposits stood
at US$3.37 million.
GEBS says it has a guarantee of its present
and future debts up to US$15 million from the General Equity Building Society
Asset Builder Fund 1 running for approximately 18 months from March 31, 2012.
Its last annual report also says six million preference shares issued in March
2010, valued at US$4.25 million, make an entity called General Equity Services
(Hong Kong) Ltd GEBS' parent company.
The annual accounts are given a clean bill
of health by auditor Lawler Draper Dillon of Melbourne.
An ASIC ban & what we want to know
As reported in our previous GEBS story,
Anthony James Scott, now described as senior legal advisor, resigned as GEBS'
secretary on August 10, 2009, the day before a man of the same name was banned
by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) from managing a
corporation for 18 months. Scott resigned as a GEBS director on September 9,
2009.
In email correspondence with interest.co.nz
Scott hasn't answered the question of whether he is the same Anthony Scott who
received the ASIC ban. Last year he said GEBS' policy was not to give interviews
to the media. In response to questions over the past week, Scott says he has
forwarded them to GEBS' directors for their attention. He's now offering a
meeting with Bayoud and GEBS' chairman Murray Greer.
Questions interest.co.nz wants to ask them
include; whether GEBS does offer any services within NZ to New Zealanders, and
why they want naming rights on a central Auckland building. We also want to
know whether they can provide detail on assets and investments purportedly held
by the General Equity Building Society Asset Builder Fund including locations
and specific names of any mines or companies involved.
We also want to ask why, given key members
of the GEBS hierarchy appear to be Australians, they chose to incorporate a
building society in NZ.
Number 17 Albert Street is a body corporate
and is managed by Crockers
Body Corporate Management. David Herron, the
Crockers account manager who looks after the property, referred questions on
how GEBS got naming rights and what it's paying for them to GEBS.
Algae to hydrocarbon intellectual property
The annual report says GEBS has lent money
to related parties including
Hong Kong private equity group WWCC Ltd. If
these parties can't repay the
money owed, which is put at about US$7.4
million, and it can't extract
estimated values from a 55% stake in algae
to hydrocarbon intellectual
property developed by WWCC Ltd and
Adelaide's Flinders University and
said to be worth at least A$34 million,
there will be in a negative net asset
position and GEBS may not be able to repay
member deposits as they fall
due.
In our previous GEBS story we reported that
a mutual fund had been
established in the Cayman Islands by WWCC
Ltd to raise US$50 million for
10% of this algae to hydrocarbon intellectual
property. In its latest annual
report GEBS says numerous potential income
streams have been identified
from the intellectual property but not yet
valued, and patents have been
granted in the US and elsewhere.
The NZ trustee that 'conservatively' estimates
it oversees more than €5
billion on behalf of some of the world's
wealthiest people
May 20, 2013
By Gareth Vaughan
Equinor Trust Limited, a New Zealand
registered trustee with links to Kiwi
Deposit Building Society (KDBS), a
controversial entity now being
dissolved, claims to oversee around €5
billion worth of assets on behalf of
some of the world's richest people.
This comment is included in correspondence
between Lachlan Williams,
managing director of KDBS and executive
director of Equinor Trust, and
Reserve Bank officials obtained by
interest.co.nz under the Official
Information Act. The correspondence shows an
aggressive approach taken
by Williams, a solicitor who is a former
councillor of the City of Boroondara
in Melbourne, towards the Reserve Bank.
The correspondence shows Williams threatened
to sue the Reserve Bank
over comments made by a central bank
official to a Danish journalist, and a
rejected request in August 2009 for the
Reserve Bank to supervise and
audit KDBS's compliance with Anti-Money
Laundering and Countering
Financing of Terrorism laws to help it avoid
having to disclose customer
details to Swiss banks. The Reserve Bank
rejected Williams' request.
As interest.co.nz reported last month, KDBS
is now being dissolved after
unsuccessful legal action against ASB late
last year when the bank moved
to terminate its relationship as its bank. A
document filed to the Registrar of
Building Societies by KDBS outlines
depositors claims of NZ$108 million. It
puts total liabilities - as of December 31,
2012 - at just over NZ$121.2
million and assets at nearly NZ$134 million.
'Very interesting client relationships'
In a background and business rationale paper
provided to the Reserve
Bank, Williams said Equinor Trust is
responsible trustee for almost 150
trusts with assets
"conservatively" worth more than €5 billion being boats,
planes, real estate, bankable assets and
share participations. Equinor
Trust specialises in the establishment and
operation of New Zealand
foreign or exempt trusts for high net worth
and wealthy families and is a
wholly owned subsidiary of the
Copenhagen-based Equinor International
A/S, which he said specialises in onshore
international wealth and tax
planning and management.
"In short Equinor has some very
interesting client relationships with some
of the world's wealthiest individuals and
families (located in all parts of the
world), and their bankers and
advisers," the paper said.
The €5 billion, or just under NZ$8 billion,
Equinor Trust is said to oversee is
equivalent to more than half the total
NZ$14.5 billion of KiwiSaver funds
under management.
Equinor Trust's annual report for the year
to September 30, 2012, filed with
the Companies Office, gives little
indication of that sort of scale. It shows
fee income of just over NZ$1 million, income
tax expense of NZ$75,664,
and net profit of NZ$194,151.
Williams described Equinor's fee billing
model as one of fee for service -
with billable hours and set up and annual
running fees for client entities,
largely irrespective of the value of assets
held.
"In 2008/09, with chaos in
international financial markets and the demise of
Swiss bank secrecy, it was observed that
there was an opportunity to move
into money management where the more
attractive fee model of a
percentage of assets under management
applies."
"With this broad objective of
establishing an asset management and
banking business, a building society was
chosen as the corporate form.
Kiwi Deposit Building Society was
incorporated on March 13, 2009."
Another NZ building society claims US$6.2
billion of investment holdings
KDBS has been one of three building
societies registered in New Zealand
but operating offshore, largely without
regulation by New Zealand
authorities. The other two are General Equity
Building Society and Safe
and Sound Building Society.
Interest.co.nz reported in April last year
that, among other things;
* A General Equity Building Society fund
claimed to hold almost US$5.5
billion of equity through unnamed mines,
gold, silver and granite ore. In its
latest annual report the fund, General
Equity Building Society Asset Builder
Fund 1, now claims US$6.2 billion worth of
investment holdings through
gold, nickel and silver mining, oil and gas
refining technology and granite.
* A New Zealand-based director of Safe and
Sound Building Society with a
background in ready mix concrete, Frederick
Frtiz Mendl Stonnell, said he
was only on the board because the Australian
based chief executive, a
relative, asked him, and he has no financial
services experience.
* A wholly-owned Danish subsidiary of KDBS
was referred to the police by
Denmark's equivalent of the Financial
Markets Authority - Finanstilsynet - in
2010 after buying into a sharemarket listed
Danish company and waiting
nine days before informing the market of its
obligation to make an offer to
minority shareholders. It was fined.
Williams said the delay was
unintentional and blamed his firm's Danish
lawyer.
'We will have to consider our legal options
in New Zealand - sorry to say'
Williams' threat of legal action against the
Reserve Bank came when KDBS
was bidding for a 64.5% stake in GR Vision
A/S, a listed company owned
by the Danish government.
In an email to Reserve Bank head of
communications and board secretary,
Mike Hannah, on September 15, 2009 Williams
outlined his anger at
comments made by Andy Wood, manager of the
Reserve Bank's domestic
deposit taking oversight, to a Danish
journalist.
"I have been informed that Mr Wood has
been quoted as saying that; Kiwi
Deposit Building Society is not subject to
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
prudential supervision, and that Kiwi
Deposit Building Society is owned by
Equinor or interests associated with
it.," said Williams.
He said KDBS wasn't owned by Equinor
International A/S or associated
entities.
"Given outrageous allegations made
against Equinor - smuggling
diamonds, being involved in attempts to sell
nuclear material - (which I
might add are false), Mr Wood's comments
threaten to derail our bid for GR
Vision and cause us loss and damage. If such
damage eventuates, we will
have to consider our legal options in New
Zealand - sorry to say."
Then in a later email, again on September
15, 2009, Williams backtracked.
He told Hannah that although in an earlier
conversation he had suggested
the Reserve Bank "urgently get legal
advice" and make quick clarifying
statements - if needed - to limit its
potential exposure to any liability in the
event of any defamatory, false or misleading
statements that might have
been published and could cause KDBS loss and
damage; "To be frank we
would be very reluctant to go down this path
against the RBNZ and I
confirm that we will not be doing so."
And in a later email to Wood he said;
"To be clear, I am asking RBNZ to
withdraw their comment and no more."
This came after Williams told Wood on
September 17, 2009 that he
personally controlled 100% of the voting
shares in KDBS in his "individual
capacity."
"The managing director of Equinor does
not give me directions about the
operation of KDBS, as he does in relation to
Equinor Trust Limited," said
Williams."Equinor provides services to
KDBS and did advise and assist it
with its registration. But the relationship
goes no further than that."
He was particularly irked by Wood's comment
to the journalist that; "As far
as we are aware, this entity (KDBS) is
controlled out of Denmark by the
Equinor group of companies."
"With respect, we do not think that it
is proper for the RBNZ to be
commenting publicly on matters relating to who
controls KDBS - there is no
way that you could definitively know,"
Williams added. "That is not to say
that we are not prepared to be open and
transparent about such matters
and would appreciate it if questions on this
topic in future are directed to
us."
Wood agreed to direct future questions about
KDBS ownership, or
associated matters, to Williams where
appropriate.
'Frankly we are baffled by your reaction'
However, this came after Wood had said
KDBS's claim on its website to be
supervised "pursuant to the Reserve
Bank of New Zealand Act 1989" was
"somewhat misleading." This, he
said, was because it wasn't prudentially
supervised by the Reserve Bank and the
Reserve Bank Act doesn't
establish a regime for prudential regulation
by any other regulator.
"Frankly we are baffled by your
reaction to my comments regarding the
ownership of KDBS," Wood added. "I
did not state that KDBS was owned
by Equinor as you claim. Rather I said that
'as far as we are aware KDBS is
controlled out of Denmark by the Equinor group
etc.' This reflects the fact
that both directors of KDBS (yourself and
Mathieu Pouletty of
Frederiksberg, Denmark) are also executives
or board members of Equinor
in Denmark, evidencing a considerable degree
of influence by the Equinor
Group."
Meanwhile, on August 4, 2009 Williams told
Doug Widdowson, of the
Reserve Bank's domestic deposit taking
oversight department, that KDBS
wanted to establish correspondent banking
relationships in Switzerland. He
said a Swiss bank was normally required to
get a prospective customer to
fill out a Form A, a document that discloses
details in relation to the
ultimate beneficial owners. However, for
commercial reasons, KDBS didn't
want to disclose such details to Swiss
correspondent banks. He added
that, under Swiss law, there was no need to
provide these details if the
Reserve Bank was to supervise and audit
KDBS's compliance with
Anti-Money Laundering and Countering
Financing of Terrorism laws.
"In effect, we request that we come
under the RBNZ's direct supervision in
relation to AML/CFT matters. We understand
that this would meet Swiss
concerns, and we would then not be required
to fill out the Form A,"
Williams wrote.
Wood responded noting there was no anti
money laundering supervisor for
non-bank deposit takers in New Zealand. The
Reserve Bank was therefore
"not empowered to act in the manner
suggested by your letter". Although
passed by Parliament in October 2009, New
Zealand's Anti-Money
Laundering and Countering Financing of
Terrorism Act doesn't take effect
until June 30 this year.
'You may choose to interpret that as a lack
of innovation; the Reserve Bank
does not'
In September 2011 the Reserve Bank then
rejected an application from
KDBS for a Reserve Bank Exchange Settlement
Account System, which
helps to allow individual transactions
between financial institutions be
settled electronically as they happen.
Williams said the rejection meant
KDBS was reliant on local banks for clearing
services, including cut off
times they impose for transaction processing.
Furthermore the rejection
"appears to indicate that financial
services innovation is discouraged" by
the Reserve Bank.
Asked by Williams for more explanation for
the rejection, Reserve Bank
chief financial officer Mike Wolyncewicz
cited the absence of audited or
financial statements and a lack of detail
about KDBS's business activities.
He also cited "a complete lack of
detail" on how the proposed system
would operate and interact with the rest of
the New Zealand dollar
payments community.
"A registered building society which
does not provide as its principal line of
business services that one would expect a
registered building society to
provide, without a clear and credible
explanation, will not be granted an
ESAS account," Wolyncewicz wrote.
"You may choose to interpret that as a
lack of innovation; the Reserve Bank does
not."
The entities peddling unregulated NZ
offshore finance companies to the
world tout their benefits and recommend
their favourite banks
August 2, 2012
By Gareth Vaughan
Always wanted to have your very own
"bank" but not sure how to get one?
Well, one could be yours, so long as you
don't actually call it a bank, for
around NZ$23,000 within about three weeks.
That's if you use the services
of Atrium Incorporation Services LLC, apparently
based in the renowned
tax haven and US state, Delaware.
But Atrium certainly doesn't have the market
cornered.
Interest.co.nz has come across a range of
organisations in cyberspace that
are ready, willing and able, to set up New
Zealand registered companies -
for a fee - to serve overseas masters as
finance companies and financial
services providers.
These entities, which may be the tip of a
large iceberg, include Atrium,
Zealand Financial Group LP, Freedom
Offshore, OffshoreBankers,
Offshore Legal Associates, Sovereign
Management & Legal Ltd, and
Slogold Group. Their existence highlights
some of what the government is
up against as it tries to crack down on
abuse of New Zealand's "red tape
free" company registration system and
the subsequent damage this is
doing to the country's reputation.
Among other things these entities tout NZ as
a "premier jurisdiction" for the
establishment of a new bank (even though you
won't actually be able to call
it a bank). They also point to NZ's
uniqueness given an international
banking entity can be established without
capital requirements, qualification
requirements or excessive supervisory
requirements. They argue NZ
offshore finance services companies are
"much superior" to both
Panamanian financial services companies and
Swedish credit unions, and
offer the option of registering as a NZ
financial service provider (FSP) or
simply acquiring an existing one "off
the shelf."
Plenty of customers
There have certainly been plenty of takers.
Then-Commerce Minister
Simon Power said last year the Reserve Bank
believed about 1,000 shell
companies incorporated in NZ over three
years had been used to carry out
banking activities free of regulatory
oversight and "many" seemed to be
undertaking fraudulent activities. Furthermore,
Power said 143 NZ
registered companies were implicated, over a
four year period, in criminal
activities overseas such as smuggling, money
laundering and tax fraud
with NZ Police and the Customs Service
receiving 134 enquiries about
them.
Following Power's revelations a Reserve Bank
spokeswoman told
interest.co.nz the central bank had
prevented "many" frauds occurring
overseas through the financial activities of
NZ registered companies and,
with Companies Office assistance, had got a
"significant" number of
companies expunged from the Companies
Register.
Against this backdrop, the American owner of
a now struck off NZ
registered firm, First Capital Savings &
Loan Limited, last month pleaded
guilty to using the company to run a US$25
million Ponzi scheme from
Panama.
Among the more bizarre NZ registered
financial entities still up and running
is the General Equity Building Society. With
Australian and Hong Kong
links, it has claimed part ownership of
potentially lucrative algae to
hydrocarbon intellectual property, and to
hold almost US$5.5 billion of
equity through unnamed mines, gold, silver
and granite ore.
Solution to the US Patriot Act? Why, New
Zealand of course
Atrium says NZ is a "premier
jurisdiction" for the establishment of a new
bank. Atrium says due to changes in most
jurisdictions bank licenses are
very difficult to obtain. And even if you
manage to get one, problems arise
due to regulations such as the US Patriot
Act, which sets out that any
licensed bank must have an actual physical presence
in the country of
licensing, with full time staff and day to
day management.
The solution, says Atrium, is to register a
NZ licensed company as a
Financial Service Provider (FSP).
"One refreshing exception is New Zealand,
a highly respected jurisdiction
with a modern legal framework and rated the
most business friendly nation
in the world by the World Bank in
2005," says Atrium.
"Banking services can be offered in and
from New Zealand by different
types of entities, including but not limited
to Registered Banks, Finance
Companies, Credit Unions and Building
Societies. We focus on the New
Zealand Finance Company (Financial Services
Provider) which is not
subject to supervision by the Reserve Bank
of New Zealand and yet
entitled to offer banking services to its
individual and corporate customers
worldwide."
"New Zealand is a premier jurisdiction
for the establishment of a new
bank."
On its website the Reserve Bank warns
caution should be exercised by
anyone considering doing any form of
business with entities promoting
themselves as "New Zealand offshore
finance companies", or using similar
descriptions, and that offer financial
services either on-line or from
locations outside of New Zealand.
"No such category of entity is
recognised under New Zealand law. The
entities involved are usually just
registered in New Zealand as companies
or limited partnerships, and they have no
special status. These entities are
not licensed or supervised as financial
service providers by any New
Zealand authority. They are required to
register a New Zealand address,
but this is usually that of a compliance
agent, with the entities having no
real physical presence in New Zealand. These
entities are often directed or
owned by persons who are not resident in New
Zealand. Details about the
directors and ownership of these entities
can be obtained by searching the
on-line database of the New Zealand
Companies Office."
NZ unique as 'an international banking
entity can be established without
capital requirements'
Atrium goes on to say that although there
are several laws regulating
financial services businesses, NZ is
"unique in the sense that an
international banking entity can be
established without capital
requirements, qualification requirements or
excessive supervisory
requirements."
Furthermore, it points out that if banking
services aren't offered to the
public within NZ, the requirements of
prospectus, supervisory trustee and
investment statements as set out in Part II
of Securities Act 1978, don't
apply. Atrium adds that FSP's offering
services to nonresidents operate
outside the Non-Bank Deposit Taker
regulations. (Pictured right Panama
City, a key setting for NZ offshore finance
companies. More detail on this
below).
"There are very few limitations on who
can own a New Zealand Finance
Company, below are requirements: (a) No
Capital Reserve Requirements -
Most banks will have to have 1 to 30 million
dollars in reserves prior to
being issued a license. The NZFC does not
require this. (b) Director and
Shareholders - Any residency is accepted and
individuals can be of any
nationality. Foreign corporations can also
be a shareholder in your NZFC.
(c) Minimum Shareholders - At least one
shareholder is required."
Atrium's complete FSP incorporation package,
including certified company
documents, company seal, registered office
and resident agent, address
for service and address for communication,
physical business address, all
relevant government filings, and
registration as FSP, annual maintenance
fees, filing annual returns and corporate
tax forms with NZ Registrar and
Inland Revenue, second set of statutory
documents for bank account
opening purposes, introduction to
Debit/Credit Card issuer, introduction to
a banking software provider, and DHL
delivery of documents, can be yours
for less than €15,000 (about NZ$23,000),
apparently within three weeks.
'Readymade finance companies' & the
banks Atrium recommends
Atrium also offers "New Zealand
Readymade Finance Companies duly
registered and licensed available for
immediate delivery."
On top of this Atrium can incorporate NZ
foreign trusts with the formation of
a trust including the preparation and
execution of a standard Trust Deed
costing €2,400. There are other fees,
including annual service fees, and
Atrium also offers a "full
serviced" virtual office in NZ. This includes an
exclusive Auckland telephone number for €750
a year, and a €300 fee to
cover call diverting costs to your number
outside NZ.
"Callers will dial - and pay for - a
local Auckland number and you can
answer the incoming call anywhere in the
world," says Atrium.
Atrium's website gives details for its
registered office in Wilmington,
Delaware, London and Madrid, plus NZ
"offices". The local address is at
office 2942 24B Moorefield Road,
Johnsonville, Wellington. According to
Finda, this is merely a virtual office and
PO Boxes. When interest.co.nz
called, the listed NZ phone number rang and
rang, eventually giving a short
message in Spanish and hanging up.
Meanwhile, Atrium also lists banks it
recommends to potential clients
including ANZ, "Kiwi, New
Zealand,", the National Bank, Rabobank New
Zealand, and Westpac New Zealand.
A man from Panama
Another promoting the wonders of the NZ
offshore finance company is
Zealand Financial Group LP, which was
registered on the New Zealand
financial services providers register but
has now been deregistered. Its
website attempts to block access from within
NZ. Calls to what's described
as the company's Auckland office, apparently
a serviced office located on
level 31 of Auckland's Vero Centre, were
answered by a woman with an
American sounding accent (who had to put our
calls on hold to answer
other calls) who said the firm also has an
office in Panama (the website
also cites an office in the British Virgin
Islands) and can establish offshore
NZ finance companies.
Asked whether a meeting could be set up with
someone in NZ about
establishing a finance company, we were told
a man named Magnusson
from Panama should be able to visit.
Magnusson - Carl Michael
Magnusson - may not, however, be able to
visit New Zealand anytime soon
as promised. He has been arrested in Panama
on money laundering
charges.
Zealand says it offers "a complete
range of services for the formation and
registration of a legally compliant FSP in
NZ, with such firms able to
engage in banking activities such as taking
deposits, and keeping,
investing and managing money, securities and
investment portfolios on
behalf of third parties.
Zealand, which uses a kiwi in its website
logo and says its parent is an
entity called Overseas Clearing Corporation,
boasts that it can offer new
company formations with the name of your
choice as well as entities “off
the shelf” for immediate delivery.
"We have Companies which have already
been registered as members of
a Dispute Resolution Scheme (DRS) and thus
authorized to offer services
to retail customers as well as Companies
registered as FSPs but not
members of a DRS. The latter should be used
for offering services to
Corporate clients, qualified/sophisticated
investors, related Companies
etc."
NZ office needed to meet 'ever increasing
demand'
A press release on Overseas Clearing
Corporation's website dating from
October 27, 2010 entitled 'OCC Panama opens New
Zealand Subsidiary
Office' says Zealand Financial Group will
serve clients in 30 countries from
its new Auckland office, being opened to
help meet "the ever increasing
demand" for NZ-based financial services
company registrations and related
support services.
“Our New Zealand office will not only
improve our efficiency when
registering Financial Service Providers in
New Zealand on behalf of our
international clients, but it will also
allow us to offer Company Management
services and a wider range of administrative
support services from within
New Zealand” the press release quotes
Magnusson, CEO of Overseas
Clearing Corporation, as saying.
The website lists Overseas Clearing
Corporation's bankers as HSBC,
which has recently set aside US$700 million
to cover fines and other costs
after a US Senate report criticised it for
letting clients shift funds from
dangerous and secretive countries, and its
auditor as Nexia International.
Meanwhile, another entity offering to
establish NZ offshore finance
companies calls itself Freedom Offshore,
saying of NZ offshore finance
companies; "Form alternative banks at a
discount price!"Freedom Offshore
doesn't offer any specific pricing details.
It suggests to clients they won't be
scrutinized by the NZ government so long as
they don't admit any New
Zealanders as clients of offshore financial
services companies and don't
have a NZ bank account for
"alternative" banking channels.
NZ offshore finance company, with 'all the
powers of an offshore bank,' is
'better than the Panama financial services
company or the Swedish credit
union'
Freedom Offshore says it can provide
"the knowledge and tools to legally
avoid all taxes" because everything
financial will be done outside of NZ and
through alternative banking.
"And like most countries, NZ does not
levy taxes on worldwide income. So
we assure that the buyers of our New Zealand
Offshore Finance Company
get the most monetary freedom
possible," says Freedom Offshore.
"You may want to use a Foundation or a
Panama Transaction Processing
Company to operate the non-New Zealand
offshore accounts. These do
the banking functions under license from the
Panama government and on
behalf of the New Zealand offshore financial
services company
(NZOFSC)."
"If you have come across other
structures such as the Panama financial
services company or the Swedish credit
union, you need to realize that the
New Zealand offshore finance services
company is much superior to both
the Panamanian FSC and superior to the
Swedish CU. While the
Panamanian FSC is usable for exchangers and
for those creating an
ecurrency, it does not have anywhere near
the power of the NZOFSC
because the NZOFSC has all the powers of an
offshore bank, whereas the
PFSC is a lot more limited."
"With the NZOFSC you can take deposits
from the public and make loans,
just like a bank does. While the Swedish
Credit Union also allows this it is
limited to only 1000 customers. But the New
Zealand Offshore Financial
Services company is unlimited in the amount
of customers it can have. But
if you want the PFSC or the SCU we can help
you obtain one of those
structures also very inexpensively. Again,
if you are looking for one for your
own alternative banking needs that is
already set up, we can point you to
the very best one," says Freedom
Offshore.
Yet another entity, calling itself
OffshoreBankers, says it has been
designed as an "independent resource
for you, the international offshore
banker, so that we can share information
within the industry about all things
related to offshore banking." Its
website provides information about NZ
FSPs saying they can be used to offer
financial services to clients of any
nationality and resident anywhere in the
world and points to Zealand
Financial's website for how one can be used.
And another, Slogold Group, whose website
lists US, UK and Panama
phone numbers, touts NZ offshore finance
companies alongside offshore
Belize brokerage, forex and lending
companies, and offshore Mauitius
brokerage and forex.
NZ regulations mostly have 'little or no
impact'
A further website, in the name of Offshore
Legal Associates and featuring a
Panama Law email address, includes detailed
information about the merits
of NZ FSPs, but carries the heading;
"This is old and out of date
information kept here only for archive
purposes."
Yet another entity, Sovereign Management
& Legal Ltd, says it provides
legal and other services through its Panama
lawyer associates and outlets
in other jurisdictions like Belize and Hong
Kong. Sovereign also touts the
benefits of the NZ offshore finance company
saying they can operate in a
similar way to a fully licensed bank, even
though the word “bank” can't be
used in the name.
"Words like 'Savings and Loan',
'Depository' and even 'Bancorp' are all
permissible," says Sovereign.
Only banks registered with the Reserve Bank
are allowed to call
themselves NZ banks. And even though
numerous entities that have been
registered with the Companies Office, now
run by the new Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment, have
used "Bancorp" in their
trading names, they're not allowed to under
the Reserve Bank of New
Zealand Act. The Reserve Bank issued a
warning on the use of the
"Bancorp" name earlier this year
outing 13 entities doing this.
However, Sovereign says even though offshore
finance companies'
activities are regulated by several acts,
users of them shouldn't be worried.
"The requirements are not onerous and
in most cases have little or no
impact and in fact should provide potential
clients of a properly run OFC
with a high degree of comfort, while at the
same time the OFC being able
to provide a high degree of confidentiality
due the fact that the Reserve
Bank does not act in any overseeing
capacity."
The government's counter moves
To counter the abuse of NZ's simple and
cheap company registration
system, the government has introduced the
Companies and Limited
Partnerships Amendment Bill to Parliament.
The Bill will require NZ
companies to either have a NZ resident
director or a resident agent and,
the Government says, provide for
"improved ability" to de-register
companies and limited partnerships for
overseas criminality.
Commerce Minister Craig Foss (pictured
right) says the Bill aims to crack down on overseas-based people and entities
abusing "one of the most red-tape free company registration systems in the
world", without actually making it harder to register a company in NZ.
This is because the government is committed to "maintaining the ease at
which people can set-up a company." See more from Foss in Alex Tarrant's
story here.
The World Bank and International Finance
Corporation have ranked NZ the easiest of 183 countries in which to start a
business. Other overseas controlled entities to trade off the back of NZ's good
reputation - such as City Savings Bank - have highlighted Transparency
International's Corruption Perceptions Index ranking NZ as least corrupt
country in the world.
The Companies Office itself points out:
"Starting a company online (incorporating) is as simple as reserving your
company name (NZ$10.22), completing the incorporation application (NZ$153.33)
and returning your signed consent forms."
Other steps the government's taking to try
and improve the regulation of NZ trust and company services providers include
the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act, which is
aimed at improving the collection of information on beneficial interests to
assist with the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes, and is due for
full implementation next June. In the meantime NZ has been dumped from a
European Union white list providing guidance for EU banks and financial
institutions about countries with EU equivalent money laundering and anti
terrorist financing laws.
Michalis Rokas, the Charge d'Affaires for the EU delegation in
Wellington, recently told Associated Press that there are "significant
gaps in New Zealand legislation, especially concerning the registration and
supervision
of companies."
A broader government "programme of
work", aimed at cracking down on the misuse of NZ’s companies register,
includes the development of a risk assessment framework to identify risks on
the Companies Register, enhanced monitoring of company registrations, and
improvements to information sharing between the Companies Office and Inland Revenue
Department to identify and risk assess inactive companies.
Time will tell whether the government
succeeds or the offshore finance company peddlers find ways around and through
the new regulations.
Source:
http://www.interest.co.nz/category/institutions/general-equity-building-society
Property &
Assets
Premises : The Subject operates from the
verified heading address consisting of an administrative office.
Branches : None
reported.
Gross Domestic
Products (GDP) & Economic Overview
Central bank : Reserve
Bank of New Zealand
Reserve of foreign exchange & gold : US$ 20.562 billion
Gross domestic product - GDP : US$
180.548 billion
GPP (Purchasing power parity) : 126.628
billion of International dollars
GDP per capita - current prices : US$
40,454
GDP - composition by sector : agriculture:
4.7%
industry: 24%
services: 71.3%
Inflation : 2009:
2.1%
2010: 2.3%
2011: 4%
Unemployment rate : 2009:
6.1%
2010: 6.5%
2011: 6.5%
Public debt
(General Government gross debt as
a % GDP): 2009:
26.1%
2010: 32.3%
2011: 37%
Government bond ratings : Standard
& Poor's: AA+/Stable/A-1+
Moody's rating: Aaa
Moody's outlook: STA
Market value of publicly traded
shares:
US$67.061 billion
Largest companies in
the country : Westpac Limited,
Transpower, Fletcher Building Limited, National Bank of New Zealand, Fonterra
Co-Operative Group Ltd, Air New Zealand Limited, The Warehouse Group Limited,
Progressive Enterprises Ltd
Trade &
Competitiveness Overview
Total exports : US$33.24
billion
Exports commodities : Dairy products, meat,
wood and wood products, fish, machinery
Total imports : US$31.11
billion
Imports commodities : Machinery
and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics,
textiles, plastics
Export - major partners : Australia 22%, US 11.5%,
Japan 9.2%, China 5.3%, UK 4.6%
Import - major partners : Australia
20.7%, China 13.4%, US 9.7%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 4.9%,
Germany 4.7%
FDI Inflows : 2008:
US$4,598 million
2009: US$-1,293
million
2010: US$561
million
FDI Outflows : 2008:
US$462 million
2009: US$-308 million
2010: US$589 million
Best countries for doing business : 3
out of 183 countries
Global competitiveness ranking : 25
(ranking by country on a basis of 142, the first is the best)
Country and
Population Overview
Total population :
4.37 million
Total area :
270,467 km2
Capital : Wellington
Currency : New
Zealand dollars (NZD)
Internet users as % of total
population: 83%
Purchase Term
Local : None
International : None
Sales Term
Local :
None
International : None
Trade Reference/
Payment Behaviour
Comments : As
local and international trade references were not supplied, the Subject's
payment track
record history cannot be appropriately determined.
Investigation Note
Sources : Official
and local business sources
FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES
|
Currency |
Unit
|
Indian Rupees |
|
US Dollar |
1 |
Rs.61.50 |
|
|
1 |
Rs.99.49 |
|
Euro |
1 |
Rs.84.88 |
INFORMATION DETAILS
|
Report Prepared
by : |
SDA |
RATING EXPLANATIONS
|
RATING |
STATUS |
PROPOSED CREDIT LINE |
|
|
>86 |
Aaa |
Possesses an extremely sound financial base with the strongest
capability for timely payment of interest and principal sums |
Unlimited |
|
71-85 |
Aa |
Possesses adequate working capital. No caution needed for credit transaction.
It has above average (strong) capability for payment of interest and
principal sums |
Large |
|
56-70 |
A |
Financial & operational base are regarded healthy. General unfavourable
factors will not cause fatal effect. Satisfactory capability for payment of
interest and principal sums |
Fairly Large |
|
41-55 |
Ba |
Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal
commitments. |
Satisfactory |
|
26-40 |
B |
Capability to overcome financial difficulties seems comparatively
below average. |
Small |
|
11-25 |
Ca |
Adverse factors
are apparent. Repayment of interest and principal sums in default or expected
to be in default upon maturity |
Limited with full security |
|
<10 |
C |
Absolute credit risk exists. Caution needed to be exercised |
Credit not
recommended |
|
---- |
NB |
New Business |
---- |
This score serves as a reference to assess SC’s credit risk and
to set the amount of credit to be extended. It is calculated from a composite
of weighted scores obtained from each of the major sections of this report. The
assessed factors and their relative weights (as indicated through %) are as
follows:
Financial
condition (40%) Ownership
background (20%) Payment
record (10%)
Credit history
(10%) Market trend
(10%) Operational
size (10%)
This report is issued at your request without any
risk and responsibility on the part of MIRA INFORM PRIVATE LIMITED (MIPL)
or its officials.