A number of "grossly imprudent" transactions between Dominion Finance and its sister firm were "a cash grab" so the now-failed company could meet its obligations to investors, a Crown lawyer said yesterday.

A prospectus for the Mad Butcher's back door listing is expected to be out next week...

I heard John Banks on the radio this morning offering financial advice to the recently-embarrassed Labour leader, David Shearer, writes David Chaplin.

Everybody with money in a bank in this country will be alarmed at first reading of the Reserve Bank's plan to seize some depositors' funds in the event of its failure.

"Who should bear which liabilities in the event of a banking collapse?" asks Bryan Gould. "The NZ proposal is an astonishing assault both on the property rights of depositors and on confidence in the banking system."

Kiwis with money in the bank could see their nest eggs and savings dwindle in a government move the Greens say is a "Cyprus-style solution" to help out failing banks.

Consumer confidence is holding up at "decent but not spectacular" levels in the latest Westpac McDermott Miller quarterly survey.

Spreading your contributions over a period of time can help smooth out some of the fluctuations in the entry price of your fund.

All advanced countries except NZ offer protection for ordinary depositors of up to $300,000 a deposit in each financial institution, writes David Mayes.

Class action acts as a "handbrake to corporate mischief" and should be allowed in New Zealand, says a Christchurch lawyer.

This week's move by a group of lawyers to take legal action against the NZ banks over default fees is not the first time banks have come under pressure.

A former director of the failed firm Capital + Merchant Finance has been handed an extra year in prison and two others have been sentenced home detention and community work.

A judge has found that Neill Williams, who claimed to only do work for the Five Star finance companies, was an integral part of all major decisions at the company.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia boss Ian Narev says his bank and its New Zealand subsidiary ASB will vigorously defend accusations of unfair and illegal default fees levelled by a legal consortium.

The kiwi dollar dropped by 1 US cent after the Reserve Bank warned that a strong currency could always prompt an OCR cut.

The Reserve Bank says the Official Cash Rate will stay at its record low of 2.5pc. The kiwi dollar dropped on the news.