UDC Finance

UDC Finance Limited is a finance company in New Zealand. UDC's main expertise is now in providing asset-backed finance for plant, vehicles and equipment, where they do not rely on land or buildings as security. UDC also offers a range of investment products such as secure term investments and call accounts. Now a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited, UDC's investments are not guaranteed by ANZ. Combined with Esanda Finance, its Australian partner, UDC is the 15th-largest finance company in the world.

History

Distinctive corporate culture

The dominant figure in the first 30 years of UDC was founding manager Dr Otto Simon Heymann (1887–1974) Ph.D. (Heidelberg), a German banker who came to New Zealand at the age of 50 after fleeing Nazi Germany. He was Deputy General Manager of Dresdner Bank, then second-largest of the big three German banks. He created this business in Wellington in 1938 with the backing of local businessmen. In accordance with government policy of the day, no banking licence would be issued to them.

In 1951, the company became known as United Dominions Corporation (South Pacific) Limited under London-based bankers, United Dominions Trust Limited, which had been invited to purchase a shareholding to establish international ties. In the short term, this strategy soon proved to be a mistake. As a now foreign-owned company, its ability to expand was limited by government regulation. However, in the 1960s the government relaxed regulations of trading banks and finance houses, allowing United Dominions Trust to sell 20% of its shares. UDC's own bankers did not participate, but elected to set up their own independent operation, BNZ Finance Limited, and those shares were instead sold to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in 1965.

Dr Heymann[1] retired after reaching the age of 80, and handed the reins to his son Stephen Heymann, who died of cancer shortly after in 1972. Dr Gert August Lau[2] Ll.D. (Leipzig), also a former Dresdner Bank employee, maintained a close interest in UDC until his sudden death in 1976. Lau was a director of both UDC and ANZ, and other major private and listed companies.

UDC's ethos differed from that of its competitors. The founding members were trained to advise clients and help their businesses raise capital. Their approach was to think of themselves as rather like family doctors, whose job it was to get to know their clients well, understand their problems, and act in their best interest. Not all potential clients were accepted.

ANZ Banking Group

UDC was briefly listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. In 1980, ANZ bought all the shares in the company that it did not already own, giving UDC shareholders ANZ shares in exchange. UDC then became a wholly owned subsidiary of ANZ Banking Group (New Zealand) Ltd and was delisted from the stock exchange.[3]

HNA Group

In January 2017, Tip Trailer Services, a Euro-Canadian affiliate of the HNA Group, announced it intended to purchase UDC Finance Limited for NZ$660 million (US$460 million) subject to the approval of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Overseas Investment Office.[4][5] HNA not meeting regulatory requirements those approvals were declined in December 2017.

Proposed flotation

ANZ announced at the end of October 2018 it would not float the business on the New Zealand Stock Exchange.[6]

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See also

References
  1. Portraits of Dr Heymann and Stephen Heymann
  2. Dr Gert Lau
  3. About UDC, UDC Finance Limited.
  4. Reuters: "China's HNA extends reach to NZ with $460 mln purchase of non-bank lender UDC" by Jamie Freed January 11, 2017
  5. Interest.com New Zealand: "Chinese conglomerate HNA plans to place NZ finance company UDC under the wing of its large European-Canadian equipment service subsidiary TIP Trailer Services" May 12, 2017
  6. New Zealand Herald, 31 October 2018 accessed 3 February 2019
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