Fund managers left out of deposit scheme

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The Reserve Bank was peppered with calls from fund managers yesterday seeking clarity on the extent of the government deposit guarantee announced on Sunday night.

Tuesday, October 14th 2008, 5:28AM

by David Chaplin

It is understood several fund managers were concerned the new measures would unfairly give advantage to finance company debentures over similarly or less risky investments managed by other providers.

According to Andy Wood, head of the non-bank and small banks prudential supervision department of the Reserve Bank (RBNZ), the rapid introduction of the deposit guarantee scheme has caused some “uncertainty at the margin”.

“We had a number of calls from people in the markets about the boundary [of the RBNZ guarantee] which has caused us to reconsider its scope,” Wood said.

He said while fund managers were “on edge” the RBNZ has been working with the industry to clarify any grey areas of the scheme.

“We want to reduce some of the uncertainty but we have to get the calibration right,” Wood said.

Over the next few days he said it would become clear “who’s in and who’s out”.

In the latest version of its FAQ website section explaining the deposit guarantee offer, the RB says it is available to those who:

• Issue debt securities to the public;
• Are in the business of borrowing and lending, or providing financial services, or both;
• Carry out a substantial portion of their business in New Zealand;
• Do not primarily provide financial services or lend to related parties and group members.

However, it was still not apparent how the guarantee would apply to products such as cash management trusts; corporate bonds, and; KiwiSaver cash funds.

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