Lock Finance to Focus on Transactional Funding With Sale

MEDIA RELEASE

Date: 2nd November 2012

Lock Finance to Focus on Transactional Funding With Sale of Non-core Assets

Lock Finance, which has been operating since 1889, has decided to focus on its core business of factoring and transactional funding and has sold certain loans forming part of its non-core assets to Pacific Dawn Limited, a New Zealand subsidiary of Nomura, a leading financial services group and the pre-eminent Asian-based global investment bank.

Lock Finance’s non-core assets include services such as Commercial Bills, Medium Terms Loans and Revolving Credit Facilities, some of which have been acquired by Pacific Dawn Limited. Any customers who have a factoring or transactional facility as their only facility or as part of their arrangement with Lock Finance will remain with Lock Finance and the full range of services will continue to be available to them.

Lock Finance CEO, Simon Thompson explains: ‘Lock Finance has been developing this strategy of focussing on transactional funding for some time and has been implementing it informally for the last 18 months. The Nomura Group approached us several months ago and the sale of the non-core assets supports our longer-term focus. We have significant commitment from our shareholders and bankers for our greater focus on our core business. We have secured additional funding lines, which means an improved capacity for our debtor finance, factoring and transactional funding services.’

Simon Thompson points out: ‘We will retain all of our traditional flexibility in standard debtor transactions. We understand credit risk to a higher degree than many other financiers, which allows us to be more competitive in certain areas. By improving our focus we believe we will also better clarify what we do and the benefits we offer our customers.’

Lock Finance is a 100% owned New Zealand finance company, providing financial services to small and medium-sized businesses throughout New Zealand. Lock Finance aims to help SMEs optimise their business growth by providing a range of funding options including debtor finance and factoring. (For further information about Lock Finance visit www.lockfinance.co.nz.)

About Nomura

Nomura is a leading financial services group and the preeminent Asian-based investment bank with worldwide reach. Nomura provides a broad range of innovative solutions tailored to the specific requirements of individual, institutional, corporate and government clients through an international network in over 30 countries. Based in Tokyo and with regional headquarters in Hong Kong, London, and New York, Nomura employs over 27,000 staff worldwide. Nomura’s unique understanding of Asia enables the company to make a difference for clients through three business divisions: retail, asset management, and wholesale (fixed income, equities, and investment banking). For further information about Nomura, please visit www.nomura.com.

ENDS

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