The Allan Hubbard Conspiracy

This week South Canterbury Finance was placed into receivership and the taxpayer came to the rescue of its mum & pop investors (read: National Party stalwarts)

Despite what has been portrayed by vested-interest groups, mostly south of the Rakaia River, there was and is no conspiracy here in the form of neo-fascist Serious Fraud Office interrogating Hubbard and his wife like a scene from ‘The Deer Hunter.’

No evil, malicious government at work trying to destroy the reputation of an elderly and much revered ‘God fearing’ businessman.

SCF and the intertwined companies lent money to people who couldn’t pay back the interest & who were sitting on depreciating assets many of which now have values less than the loans taken, some near worthless - all at a time when the world economies were in a tail-spin.

Another ‘nail in the coffin’ were the investors who, prudently as it turns-out, pulled their money-out on maturity date rather than re-investing it. Thus the day to day operating cash needed to operate, dried-up.

This scenario in South Canterbury Finance is little different than the demise of other finance companies we have seen lately.

If you lend investors money to a 2nd hand car yard, a pub, a land developer or a dairy conversion group in Waimate etc and the recipients can’t pay back the loan – then make these bad choices time after time - the end result is the same. The bad investments drag- down the good and it all turns pear-shaped.

In the case of South Canterbury finance they made around $600 million of bad calls.

Cries that the fatal-demise of this South Canterbury institution would seriously harm the local Canterbury economy ring-hollow when we (its new default share-holders) learnt about the scope of its bad debts, much of which evaporated in the metro-sexual haunts of Auckland’s viaduct, Marlborough Vineyards, Luxury Apartments in Queenstown, a Resort in Fiji and even the ubiquitous Dave Henderson got his mitts on SCF’s investors loot.

$700 to $800 million went into what NBR termed ‘non viable building projects.’

It was those who made the bad-calls to loan other-peoples life-savings, money to these defaulting parties who are at fault and not the SFO, evil public servants in Wellington.

To quote SCF’s Chief Executive Sandy Maier “South Canterbury’s failure is a result of its own actions and activities and poor decisions historically.”

The fact that one director of a failed finance company lead a more frugal existence, went to church on Sunday, donates to SPCA etc and his failed contemporaries were hedonistic flash Aucklanders driving Mercs means nothing to me as a tax-payer. The end result of their respective business’s is the same – blood on the ground and the tax-payer left holding the can without getting any say.

Why New Zealanders should feel any sympathy for the Directors of SCF versus say Hanover Finance is beyond me?

In-fact Hanover’s melt-down didn’t bleed every New Zealander to the tune of $400 each, just it’s share-holders - which is the way it should be in a capitalist economy.

For the record I never invested in any of these defunct finance companies – yet there is not only people wanting me to pay for other peoples bad choices - on top of that, there is also an element who want me to cry crocodile tears at the way Mr & Mrs Hubbard have been treated as well!

Well Fuck You!

Fuck the socialist National Party!

As a country we can’t pay for teachers wage rises but we can find a billion-plus for investors chasing high returns in what turned-out to be a portfolio with high risk investments.

If you are comfortable investing in speculative ventures like resorts in that coup ridden basket-case Fiji, fly-by-night glitzy pubs, ‘boom & bust’ agricultural enterprises like vineyards – be prepared to lose your shirt.

By-in-large the ungrateful National voting investors in SCF weren’t happy with the conservative returns offered by Trading Banks or the volatility of the share-market. The investors of SCF were happy taking the high-returns but squealed like pigs to gutless politicians when their money disappeared down the tubes.

For those misguided souls that still worship the cult of Hubbard here’s a message - why-not dip-into your own pockets & the moment you can re-invest in South Canterbury Finance & Aorangi Securities again – do so- if this is as you suggest a matter of principal and such a vital asset worth saving?

After-all the best thing his supporters and fellow parishioners can do to show solidarity with Hubbard and his fellow directors is, the moment statutory management is lifted, to place your money in South Canterbury Finance, Aorangi Securities etc (or for that matter one of the hundreds of companies Hubbard is a director in – there’s a couple of hundred from all accounts)

So if you truly back Allan Hubbard forget posting empty platitudes on Facebook sites and instead have the fortitude to take your own money out of your own bank account and not mine.

Forget the holiday on The Gold Coast, sell the boat, caravan, house, pets, send the kids up chimneys etc & the give all your worldly wealth to that honest & benevolent financial genius Allan Hubbard and his ably qualified & proven team at SCF to prudently invest on your behalf.

Say finish off that resort in Fiji that is languishing.

Dave Henderson certainly could do with your $'s currently.

Personally I wouldn’t lend SCF or Aorangi etc a brass rarzoo and I don’t mind saying so.

Last and by no means-least, I also think its high-time some of these privileged self-interested investors who have been bailed-out should take time away from sending the Hubbards condolences cards and say “Thank-You.” to suckers like me.