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Kiwibank margins put under pressure; PGG Wrightson Finance looks to push out listed-bond maturity: Fidelity to pay coupon; SBS flags bonus payments to charities.
Monday, July 12th 2010, 6:51PM
Kiwibank margins put under pressure in deposit rate war
Kiwibank's margins came under pressure in the first three months of the year as the deposit rate competition continued to weigh on the small lender which is trying to win customers from the big four Australian banks.
Kiwibank reported a margin of 1.14% over the period, according to KPMG's quarterly Financial Institutions Performance Survey.
"The competition for domestic deposits has reset margins at a level far below thjose experienced in previous years where Kiwibank was earning around 1.8%," the report said.
PGG Wrightson Finance looks to push out listed-bond maturity
PGG Wrightson Finance wants to extend the maturity of a listed bond that ends in October for another year after it was accepted into the government's extension to the retail deposit guarantee. Chief executive Mark Darrow said extending the bond, with the cover of the guarantee, was an appropriate way to reward investors' "ongoing support."
The extension will require bondholders' approval, and a short-form prospectus has been lodged.
Investors with more than $250,000, which is the cap covered by the extended guarantee, can sell back holdings above the threshold to Wrightson.
The proposal will not be open to offshore investors.
Fidelity to pay coupon
Fidelity's Bond Fund (NZX:FDY010) will pay its July quarter coupon this week as as the fund's market valuation is above the required threshold.
The market value of the fund at the end of last week was $81.28 million and comfortably exceeds the threshold to pay the coupon.
The coupon is 9.25% for half a year. The next scheduled interest payment is January 17.
SBS flags bonus payments to charities
SBS Bank is looking to tug on the heart-strings as it reintroduces its Star Investment Special. The deal gives bonus payments to non-profit clubs and societies on its star account when they are nominated by investors who take out a new fixed-term investment of six months or longer.
Since the introduction of SBS Star, it had pumped some $280,000 into non-profit organisations' bank accounts through its monthly lottery, with a further $16,500 paid out through the bonus payments.
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