Topp points, Nevin

I agree with the concerns raised by Nevin Topp (Letters, Apr 16), and add one of my own, which is that all the borrowing seem to be in the bank cash market and I wonder if there is a foreign exchange risk.

With borrowings like those, the sting is in the tail. Rising interest rates will impact immediately on the cost of servicing the loans and changes in exchange rates may open an unquantifiable liability. I ask why the NZ stock exchange is not used more to raise long-term bond money? That would eliminate foreign exchange risk and lock in the cost of borrowing for the life of the loan. There are other benefits, both to the borrower and to the growth of the domestic capital market, that should not be ignored. Toby Heale Avonhead