Briefs: new NGM chair, Earlypay buyback, AUSTRAC fines lenders 19 April 2024 7:18AM John Kavanagh Samantha Martin-Williams, new NGM Group chair Samantha Martin-Williams has been appointed chair of NGM Group, the merged Newcastle Permanent Building Society and Greater Bank. Martin-Williams joined the Newcastle Permanent board in 2012 and moved to the NGM Group board following the 2023 merger. She takes over from Wayne Russell, who will retire at the group’s annual general meeting in November. Martin-Williams is currently deputy chair of Newcastle Airport, vice chair of the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia and is on the board of start-up community Fishburners. NGM’s deputy chair Jeff Eather will also retire at the AGM and will be replaced by former banker Rod Jackson. Business finance company Earlypay has launched a buyback of unmarketable parcels. Any shareholder with a holding valued at less than $500 has been invited to participate. The company said it is hoping to remove 378 shareholders holding a total of 481,968 shares from its register. Unmarketable parcels represent 0.17 per cent of the company’s total issued shares. Two non-bank lenders are among the eight businesses issued with AUSTRAC infringement notices for failing to submit annual compliance reports. They are John Charles Duffy, a sole trader, and Powered Investments Pty Ltd. Other business issued with notices were pubs and clubs, bookmakers, trustees and investment managers. Fines ranged from $3,300 to $16,500.
