Finance and Leasing in receivership

Finance company Finance and Leasing has been placed in receivership, putting at risk $17 million owed to 227 debenture holders.

Trustee Perpetual Trust yesterday appointed Deloitte as receivers after the company breached the Reserve Bank's new capital ratio covenants for finance companies.

The new criteria came into force on December 1 and Finance and Leasing had been unable to re-gear its balance sheet in time to meet the covenant, the trustee said.

The company had applied for dispensation from the Reserve Bank but the three-month wait for processing was too long. Finance and Leasing was not covered by the Government's retail guarantee scheme.