INSOLVENCY GAPS FOUND

New Zealand’s insolvency practitioners look likely to face a new licensing regime after a report to Commerce Minister Paul Goldsmith found that gaps in existing rules enable dishonesty and incompetence. The public has until October 7 to make submissions on a review of insolvency law, which Goldsmith says is primarily to find what the minimum level of entry should be for the specialists tasked with winding down companies. The Insolvency Working Group, set up in November, recommended improvements to the law, finding “too many providers of insolvency services fall well short of the standards of integrity and skill that the New Zealand public is entitled to expect” by overcharging or failing to protect the interests of creditors.