Hanover Delighted With Ratings Assessment

17 April 2007

Hanover Delighted With Ratings Assessment

Hanover Finance Limited and Hanover Financial Services Limited Achieve BB+ From Leading Global Ratings Company

Hanover Group is delighted with the outcome of the ratings assessments of its flagship finance company Hanover Finance Limited and its direct parent Hanover Financial Services Limited[1] . Both have achieved BB+ international credit ratings from major global credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings.

Fitch Ratings is one of the three international industry leaders in the provision of rating evaluations, setting the standard for the independent rating of financial institutions for more than 80 years. Fitch rates more financial institutions worldwide than any other rating agency.

Hanover Chief Executive Andrew Schmidt says Hanover is pleased to have completed the rigorous, international-standard assessment by Fitch. "Fitch Ratings has assessed our internal procedures, the competence and experience of our senior management team, our risk management procedures and the quality of our asset base. Naturally we are very pleased that both Hanover Finance and its parent Hanover Financial Services1 have emerged from this process with such a positive result. We note particularly Fitch's favourable comments about the risk management processes and controls we have in place."

"We see that investors are increasingly looking towards credible international ratings assessments as a guide to their investment decision making. Hanover investors can take confidence from the Fitch assessment."

"Further, Hanover supports the need for a regulatory regime that sets high standards of prudential management for the finance company industry, as is currently being addressed by the Ministry of Economic Development Review of Financial Products & Providers. We believe that mandatory credit ratings by the three major international rating agencies must be a very important component of this developing regime."

Hanover Financial Services Limited1 is also the parent company of United Finance Limited, FAI Finance Limited and United Home Loans Limited.

"Having established an excellent benchmark for Hanover Finance and Hanover Financial Services1 we will now work with Fitch to further improve our credit rating over time."

ENDS

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