NZX Notified Of BNZ Legal Action Over Access Brokerage

New Zealand Exchange Limited (NZX) has just been notified that proceedings have been served by the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) and the liquidators of Access Brokerage against NZX and Deloitte for recovery of money that BNZ paid out to Access clients in September 2004.

NZX strongly denies the claims and that it has any liability for them whatsoever. In any event NZX has insurance. Access Brokerage was suspended by NZX on 6 September last year and then placed into liquidation following the discovery of a deficiency in client funds.

Access' former managing director Peter Marshall has since been indicted on 15 charges, following investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. NZX Discipline is also taking proceedings.

Head of Regulation at NZX, Elaine Campbell, says NZX's interest in this issue has always been to protect investors and that NZX remains proud of its prompt and effective discharge of its front-line regulatory duties which resulted in no share investor being out of pocket. She explains that last September, at the prompting of NZX, the BNZ and NZX jointly underwrote the shortfall on client obligations in the Access Brokerage Trust account held by the BNZ. As a consequence, no investor lost any money following the Access Brokerage collapse.

NZX believes that the claim is motivated by the fact that BNZ is carrying an outstanding liability for money it paid out to Access and that it is seeking to offload that liability on to NZX.