All three who have been named have denied 21 charges brought against them by the Serious Fraud Office.
Applications have been made to the registrar at the High Court at Timaru to remand the defendants.
Once today's hearing is complete, a further definite date is expected to be announced in the case.
South Canterbury Finance went into receivership on August 31, 2010 owing about $1.8 billion.
Because the company was in the Crown retail deposit guarantee scheme, all its losses have been borne by the Crown and ultimately New Zealand taxpayers.
The 21 charges allege a variety of offences, including theft by a person in a special relationship, obtaining by deception, false statements by the promoter of a company and false accounting.
The total estimated value of allegedly fraudulent transactions is about $1.7 billion.
