KEY POINTS:
The listed companies written to last week by the stock exchange as a result of troubles in the finance company sector have all met a deadline of 9am today to respond.
After the receivership last week of Nathans Finance, NZX wrote on Thursday to all listed finance companies and listed companies with material finance company subsidiaries.
NZX gave the 15 companies an "opportunity" to provide information to the market and demonstrate they were complying with continuous disclosure rules.
That flushed out trouble at NZAX-listed Property Finance Group on Friday.
The company requested its shares be suspended and said it was concerned about its ability to "manage its current liquidity position", as credit in the debenture and wholesale markets dried up.
Today NZX head of communications Rowan MacRae said the stock exchange had heard from all the other 14 companies within the timetable of 9am today.
All 14 had said they were complying with continuous disclosure requirements, she said.
Under the rules, if a company advised it was complying with continuous disclosure then NZX had to accept that declaration as factual.
The focus was now on Christchurch-based Property Finance as the market awaited news of its next move.
On Friday Property Finance chairman Barney Sundstrum said he was not confident about the firm's prospects as it was having difficulty honouring its debts.
But the company had good, well-performing assets and was looking at "restructuring opportunities", he said.
"We have no reason to believe debenture holders won't get paid back in full."
Five New Zealand finance companies have collapsed in 15 months and the stock exchange is wary of trouble in the finance sector spreading further.
"There's certainly fear and speculation, and there are genuine risks around contagion, around this thing spreading because the more companies that fail, the less money that goes into the sector, the more likelihood there is of further companies failing," NZX chief executive Mark Weldon said.
- NZPA
