A collapse in core business value at Yellow Brick Road will invite questions over how many more financiers may unveil writedowns in synch with the credit slowdown.
Yellow Brick Road needs time to clarify the size of "a material, non-cash impairment charge on the carrying value of the wealth management and the lending business".
YBR has missed the end of month deadline to report to the ASX on its December half-year. Its shares are now suspended, having last traded at 5.5 cents by the close.
The company said it may take as long as two more weeks to finalise and audit these accounts. It said it anticipates an unqualified audit opinion, at it is relying on the value of the trail commissions on its back book to sustain the business.
The impairment charge "results from a detailed consideration of the goodwill and other intangible assets of the group in the context of the Royal Commission, current and projected market conditions and the regulatory environment," the company said.
Mark Bouris, executive chair, told the annual meeting in November that "our investments over the past year and our planned push into mortgage securitisation means Yellow Brick Road will be well placed to succeed, whatever the outcome of the Royal Commission and any subsequent regulatory changes".
Four months later, Bouris and his board of four may be facing the fact that while some non-bank lenders such as Firstmac are roaring along, YBR is confronting its exit from the industry.