Hubbard says he could have saved South Canterbury Finance
Allan Hubbard has reacted to news of South Canterbury Finance's receivership by saying he could have saved the business had he not been sidelined.
The founder and majority shareholder of the failed finance company - who was removed from the company in March and had his personal assets and those of several charitable trusts he established placed in statutory management - could not be contacted for content but released a statement to media which included these comments:
- ''Surely they realised that by freezing me out and taking over control of my affairs that they would be dealing a body blow to South Canterbury Finance."
- ''Since the impact of the global credit crisis became obvious, I have done everything I can to save SCF, including investing hundreds of millions of myown investments into the company."
''It has been deeply frustrating and hurtful, over the last nine months, to have been sidelined by my fellow SCF directors, and subsequently straight-jacketed by the government regulators, from working to save South Canterbury.''
''I have always attempted to place investors' returns first, and my personal financial interests as secondary, and as the severity of the global credit crunch became apparent, I moved quickly to inject my own assets into South Canterbury."
"Instead they bring down the boom, take me out, freeze my access to my personal funds and now so many families, small businesses, farms and enterprises, throughout the South Island in particular, are going to be seriously suffering."
"I will be providing my own analysis, with the assistance of my team of
professional legal and financial advisers, to put my side of the story and I
will be taking this matter further."
Two of Mr Hubbard's other companies, Hubbard Management Funds and Aorangi Securities, have been put under statutory management along with Mr Hubbard himself and his wife Jean.
The Serious Fraud Office said yesterday its investigations into those companies would continue.
The Stand By Hubbard Group -- which describes itself as deeply concerned about the actions of the Government in relation to Mr Hubbard -- has set up a Facebook page for supporters of the beleagured Timaru businessman.
Since the announcement of SCF's receivership friends of the page have largely blamed the Government, SFO and statutory managers.
"The end of South Canterbury Finance, our greatest investor in South Canterbury, well done SFO you have seriously crippled our economy," Jonny Stanley wrote.
Suzanne Edmonds said it was as Mr Hubbard's supporters had predicted a long time ago.
"The authorities have stuffed the NZ economy...they have failed to police the crooks...let them lead the high life...let the fire sales drive down values and distroy investors confidence (sic)," she said.
A poll on the Stand By Hubbard website asked people if they would vote for National in the 2011 election after the issue with Mr Hubbard.
Of the 98 people who replied 58 said no, 35 yes and five maybe.
Additional reporting NZPA
Signup to free NBR email alerts here
Back to home
Back to top
Print
Email
Share
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Google
Yahoo
Technorati
Scoopit
NBR SERVICES
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Sign up for NBR subscriber content or email alerts
Latest
Comments and questions29
Really Allan where would you have hidden it all this time???
Where were Alan;s advisors during this period. He was 82 years old and had many paid adviosrs to protect him.
Where were they at his time of need.??
What's Forsyth Barr's plan to compensate preference shareholders?
Poor old man, never says DIE!
Don’t disagree with Hubbard here - but answer me this Allan .. where is the MONEY? Mr Stanley are you a reporter (or a tabloid journo?) do some research don't fire blanks at the SFO as if they know where the cash is? Thank you, to the National Govt for not flogging a Dead Horse. If these managers at SCF waited until a major catastrophic event like this… then they aren’t worth giving any more money to squander…. ( which could be better used in public hospitals, education… retirement savings, unemployment need I go on?)
Its not all about Big Business!!
When the GG came in Hubbard used it toattract money to lend to high risk /high return speculative property loans whos money had dried up from finance company failures. He thought he could cover the massive losses he was hiding from previous poor management. When the new loans went sour it was the last straw.
But this was a year or so before the stat mngmt - so saying he could have saved it is just more Hubbard rubbish. He should be apologising - his attitude and his dumb supporters attitude is just disgraceful.
Hubbards sutpidity has just cost us about 3 regional hospitals. Thanks.
This hasn't happened overnight, or throughout the time the SFO has been involved in the Hubbard's aother interests, this has been going on for almost 2 years now. Any self respecting investor, journalist or businessman with an ounce of creedance would know that.
I appreciate that people may be hurt by what has happened and that their beloved Mr Hubbard has come under scrutiny, however it was very strongly deserved and in all reality should have been done some 12-24 months ago.
"Hubbard says he could have saved South Canterbury Finance" Well Allan FRONT UP & do it now - stop putting Lip Stick on it!!!
AH has clearly lost the plot, as well as all his assets. Where is the apology to the Taxpayers for having to pay out the GG? The man's ego is insufferable. He is digging himself a bigger hole every time he opens his mouth. Instead of attacking the Govt agencies and SCF directors, what about explaining the issues raised in the Statutory Managers' reports? And why did SCF depart from its core business to become a financier for risk taking speculators?
Please can someone answer this , i understand a lot of money went into SCF and other finance companies on the advise of Financial Advisers ,they in return got a very good fee for this , where is the come back on this advise , they didnt have a clue what state these companies where in ? for my limited knowledge i did see many of these so called advisers where broken down Insurance agents and thought how could they know what Financial advise is all about ?
Vestar never used SCF because they didn't pay sufficient brokerage.
They will tuck their clients as they always have done. Look at Credit Sales. They will wash their hands and bank millions of dollars of fees. I have know idea how they can keep getting away with it.
Its a bit rich to be attacking the Governement Mr Hubbard!!!
After all SCF lobbied very hard for Gov't Guarantees and a further extension. As a tax payer I do not think it is their role to prop up your organisations operations.
I suggest you may also share some of the blame in that indeed a succession plan could have been an area in which you should take some responsibility.
You should be grateful of the tax payers who are now footing the bills of your companies errors.
Mr Hubbard - I suggest you keep your head down and retain your dignity.
It's difficult to reconcile the words and actions of the Hubbard Support Group with reality. They provide entertainment value in an otherwise sad, sad story.
Exposing Unbelieveably Flawed Analysis.
To all those who bag Mr Hubbard, I'd like to point out that that this is a man who has given millions to charity and has only ever wanted to help people. When your sick and dying of cancer, heart disease or getting counseling from victim support just remember that its people like Hubbard who have helped these organization give so much. You think the $20 you gave red cross actually helps, try giving a million dollars and see how much difference that makes.
Come on, AH is delusional, when someone is incapable of seeing what is obvious to all who open their eyes we can all understand why SCF was doomed.
Alan may have been able to turn $1M into $1.5M year upon year, but when it came to investing $1B he just did not have the skills or the intelligence to know he needed far more help to run a succesful large finance company. The fact he lacked those skills is why SCF is dead in the water, and those who owe money on mortgage and are short of cash to pay the interest Look Out, whatever is collateral for the mortgage is going to be sould from under you.
Many in Timaru will blame the Govt and Statutory Management, even Sandy Maire recognises that SM did not put SCF on the rocks. The company was foundering and sinking many months earlier.
Thank heavens the Govt have stayed out, except for honouring the guarantee, the assets will be written down by a receiver / liquidator and life will go on albeit that some who have borrowed too much against businesses / farms that are no longer viable with that debt will have to face the music.
The millions he have away were the tax dollars the rest of us have paid you thicko.
How long are they going to drag this out for?
Will they ever actually lay charges against Hubbard or associates?
Or did they never intend to?
It is not as "complex" as they want it to be, is there fraud or isn't there?
Or are they too stupid to know?
Or 15 cases of Heineken per person @ $25/doz
You conveniently take the flawed viewpoint that SCF investors do not as a normal rule pay any tax.
This is quite incorrect.
Now where did I see you saying Thank You to the Govt for recouping $2.2 Billion in back Taxes from the four major Australian Banks ?
I would like to see alot more effort put into investigating Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion.
The amount that could be recouped in these areas would make the likely payout in SCF look like peanuts.
He could have saved the company if he didnt take out hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to himself and related parties which he couldnt pay interest on, and gave back to SCF non income earning loans and investments. Its the taxpayers who have repaid investors for this appaling business decsion.
As for putting his profitable investments back in, they were paid for with investors money, not his.
Proper investigations take time.
I have just had a phone call from an Aorangi/HMF investor on this same issue.
As a litigation lawyer will tell you,litigation has a life of its own.
Interestingly despite the whinging from the south - this a pretty big transferral of wealth south - given that most of the "bad loan"money has gone somewhere - sellers of land, industries doing dairy conversions, plant puchases etc.
And the "investors" have now got $1.6B to spend again in one bang. So the receivership is hardly going to have a neagative overall impact - just a transfer of assets from people who can't afford them (and prob can't invest in them) to those who can. It may well be a postive effect.
They should be congradulating the old fool Hubbard for stuffing up so spectacularly!
We did donate millions to charity - only we didn't know it!
How much of it did go north of Cook Strait ?
I suspect the lion's share didn't.
Sad to say Mr Hubbard that I think you might be kidding yourself.
From what has come out in the last few days it is obvious that this got far too big and out of control for anyone to reign in and sort out.
Much as I may have had sympathy and suspected you may have been hard done by unfortunately it is fairly obvious you are going to have to take your medicine in this instance.
As far as putting hundreds of millions of your own money in I think that the various analysis of Dairy Holdings and Helicopters NZ financial positions might have indicated that putting them into SCF may have been chucking the company a financial 'hospital pass' anyway. Scales may have been Ok but no doubt that too will come under observation down the track.
I couldn't agree more with the comments about Forsyth Barr. Their conduct in advising clients throughout the financial crisis has been disgraceful.
They encouraged us to continue back SCF, Credit Sails plus the rest! Who knew the SCF preference shares carried as much risk as Hubbard himself's money? You bet ForBars did.
I am disgusted and pennyless.
We have lined their pockets.
Excellent point. They were very careful NOT to advise appropriates with regard to the preference shares. They have an appaling record of backing these failed finance companies.
WE have all lined THEIR pockets.
Post new comment or question
To share this article, click on a service below