South Africa's experience points the way...

The new 'heartland bank' formed by Canterbury Building Society and Souther Cross will come into being tomorrow, with an investment grade crdit rating and NZX listing expected next month.

Hanover Finance shareholders Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson were the major business notables to fall from grace.

Mum-and-dad shareholders in NZ's top listed companies are the target of a predatory offer to buy shares for much less than they are worth.

In olden times, the mob would deliver justice via the guillotine and celebrate the deed by parading the guilty person's head on a pike.

Former Five Star director Anthony Bowden says he is genuinely sorry about the distress caused to investors following the collapse of the company..

The finance company sector has a "legacy of problem loans" that are proving difficult to dispose of or recover despite improvements in profitability, margins and volume growth this year.

Five Star Finance director Anthony Bowden has been sentenced on Securities Act charges in the Auckland District Court today.

Five Star Finance directors Nicholas Kirk and Marcus MacDonald have both been sent to jail for more than two years. They are believed to be the first directors of collapsed finance companies to go to jail.