Tower's move to bid for Fidelity Life Assurance without securing support from Fidelity's major shareholders has left some wondering whether it has some underlying plan which has yet to be revealed.

The Securities Commission's announcement yesterday that it had laid criminal charges against the directors of Lombard Finance & Investments was no surprise.

Criminal charges have been laid against four Lombard Finance & Investments directors, including two ex-cabinet ministers.

Lombard Finance receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers says investors will receive a repayment later this month of 6.5 cents for every dollar invested.