There was "considerable doubt" over Provident Capital's "integrity to obtain, manage or hold money from the public" a Federal Court ruled in a judgement delivered verbally three weeks ago but only published now.Early this month, Justice Steven Rares agreed to appoint Philip Carter, Tony Sims and Marcus Ayres from PPB Advisory as receivers of Provident Capital, having stayed orders delivered several days earlier.More than 3000 investors in debentures are owed A$125 million. The judge ruled that the firm's managing director and primary shareholder, Michael O'Sullivan, engaged in "a pre-emptive strategy to avoid the consequences of any receivership" by seeking an authority for an Australian Financial Services Licence for a related company that was to take over as the responsible entity for Provident's main funds.The facts surrounding Provident's efforts to obtain this licence became clear only late in a hearing sought by Australian Executor Trustees. The application by the trustee to appoint receivers followed several months of review by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and PPB Advisory working on behalf of the trustee.Justice Rares noted a series of other concerns about Provident, including a "January information booklet [that] omitted any reference to at least $12 million of a past due loan" and optimistic assumptions by O'Sullivan over the prospects of recovery of this and other loans.Rares also noted that 90 per cent of the loans financed by one pool of debentures were non-performing.Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is also a lender to Provident over a more orthodox (and mostly performing) pool of home loans.