Pyne Gould Corp, which owns Marac Finance, yesterday announced an overhaul of its operations and assets that will see Marac pull out of property lending and apply for a banking licence. PGC said it would buy George Kerr's Equity Partners Asset Management Limited for NZ$18 million in cash to become a banking and asset management firm. The asset management arm would include EPAM and PGC's Perpetual Trust trustee firm, while Marac Finance would sell its NZ$160 million of property loans to a real estate credit fund called Torchlight Credit Fund that would be owned by EPAM.Kerr, who is the former owner of Brook Asset Management, owns just under 11 per cent of PGC through family interests.PGC said it would book a provision for losses on these loans of NZ$60 million to NZ$65 million and look to raise an unspecified amount of extra capital, with George Kerr acting as underwriter on an arm's-length basis. PGC said it would also keep its 20 per cent stake in PGG Wrightson.PGC CEO Jeff Greenslade told Interest.co.nz in an interview that the PGC's Perpetual Trust was a "great brand with a fantastic franchise that had a big client base with a small product range."Interest.co.nzPerpetual Trust dealt with trusts and estates and would benefit from funds management expertise. "We needed to upgrade and expand," Greenslade said. "Bringing on George Kerr helps us leapfrog into the funds management business," he said.PGC had decided to take the property lending portfolio off Marac Finance's balance sheet ahead of registering as a bank, which was good for debenture holders in Marac, Greenslade said."They (the property loans) need to be held in an environment with patient capital that can give them three, four, five years to achieve their real value," he said.Greenslade declined to give a likely size for PGC's capital raising, adding this was not certain yet given the requirements under the new regime for non-bank deposit takers to ensure sufficient capital. The process of applying for a bank licence and complying under the new Reserve Bank regime would be a factor in deciding the size of any capital raising.