Midlands Mortgage Trust remains 'alive and kicking'

Midlands Mortgage Trust has said the discrepancy between the required minimum liquidity amount quoted on its paper newsletter and website newsletter was a harmless mistake.
The paper newsletter said the fund was required to have a minimum liquidity of 5 per cent of investors' funds and the website newsletter said it was required to have 10 per cent.
Both publications said the May 2011 liquidity amounted to $4,404 million - 8.97 per cent of investor funds.
Midlands Mortgage Trust chairman of directors Preston Bulfin said the 10 per cent figure was an in-house goal set by directors, while the 5 per cent figure was a requirement of the trust deed - a figure the company had always been above.
He said the company had not issued a current prospective because it was not taking deposits while it concentrated on reducing debt.
"We have an impaired loan book, as all lending institutions have at this time," he said.
The company was "very much alive and kicking" and would solicit deposits as the situation continued to improve "and we can hold our heads high," he said.
Midlands was founded by law companies DAC Legal in Waipukurau, Bramwell Grossman in Hastings and Halliwells in Hawera.
Bulfin said "it was just a coincidence" that both Midlands and DAC Legal were owed money by besieged Wellington property tycoon Terry Serepisos, whom he noted had borrowed extensively.
DAC Legal was due to present its second attempt at a summary judgment against Serepisos in the High Court at Wellington on August 1.
Bulfin said Midlands had "a couple of loans" to Serepisos or related entities, but the impending sale of two Wellington apartments "would take them out of arrears".