The Federal Reserve is beefing up its examination of US banks, fearing that profligate lending to commercial property developers could ultimately prove as damaging to the financial system as the subprime mortgage debacle.

Property tycoon David Stewart Henderson - the man involved in a celebrity drug ring in 2005 - is being threatened with bankruptcy.

Queenstown developer Rod Nielsen's business practices should be restricted and he must bear responsibility for commercial irresponsibility, says the High Court.