Sweetheart rates for directors
In its second round submission to the Financial System Inquiry, industry association Provic highlighted the collapse of Gippsland Secured Investments.GSI failed in July 2013 with A$144 million in liabilities. The Federal Court appointed E&Y as receivers, responding to doubt by The Trust Company on the viability of the firm.Ernst & Young reported later in 2013 on the privileged position of directors and employees. Directors obtained close to $5 million in loans at discounted interest rates. Some directors and staff were also paid much higher rates on investments, of 5.2 per cent compared with an average interest rate of 1.8 per cent for "at call" notes.The report also shows that the final prospectus for GSI understated the proportion of loans used for property development. This was said to be 41 per cent, but the real proportion was 63 per cent.