Briefs: Gippsland auditor deregistered, AFG hits $100 billion milestone

ASIC has cancelled the registration of the Gippsland Secured Investments auditor in the wake of what it said was "a deficient audit of the since collapsed debenture issuer." Joanne Keng Yee Loh of Morwell, Victoria was responsible for the audits of GSI for the 2011 and 2012 financial years. In September 2013, receivers were appointed to the company. Under an enforceable undertaking with ASIC, Loh has agreed to never reapply for registration or perform any duties or functions of an auditor. ASIC has previously taken action against the auditors of several failed debenture issuers, including Brian Patrick Kingston (Wickham Securities) and Warren John Sinnott (Banksia Financial Group).
The loan book of AFG, Australia's largest mortgage broker, has hit the $100 billion mark. This led the firm to claim honours as "possibly" the largest mortgage broker "in the world". Certainly AFG is responsible for around 12 per cent of all new home loans in Australia, based on ABS numbers and AFG's own statistics. It has a "growing securitisation arm, with over $1 billion in assets, and has issued close to $900 million in residential mortgage backed securities to global markets over the past 20 months, managing director Brett McKeon noted.