The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) have expressed concern that CBL, which also has operations throughout the UK and Ireland, may have been in breach of various obligations, including its continuous disclosure obligations.
Given the circumstances surrounding CBL, FMA and NZX said, in a joint statement, that they will be working closely with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to assess the information available to them.
“It is critically important to the health of our Capital Markets that investors have confidence they can access all appropriate information when investing in listed companies,” FMA/NZX said.
“The continuous disclosure obligations, for which the NZX is the frontline regulator, are key to ensuring transparency of information for investors. Under the NZX Main Board Listing Rules, material information may only be withheld from the market in limited, prescribed circumstances.”
Additionally, the FMA said it had requested further information from overseas regulators.
On March 01, the RBNZ informed the market that CBL Insurance breaching directions made by the regulator prompted it to ask the High Court to appoint interim liquidators to the insurer. RBNZ said CBL Insurance made payments of $55 million to overseas companies despite significant doubts about the firm’s solvency.
Last month, NZX exercised its power and suspended the quotation of CBL Corporation’s ordinary shares.
