Crown withdraws guarantee from Viaduct Capital Limited

Immediate Release

The Crown has given notice to Viaduct Capital Limited today that it is withdrawing the Crown retail deposit guarantee from Viaduct, effective immediately upon receipt of the notice by Viaduct.  The Crown is withdrawing the guarantee under clause 10.3(a) of the Guarantee Deed, on the basis that the Crown reasonably considers that the business or affairs of Viaduct are being, or are intended or likely to be, carried on in a manner which:

(i) may extend the effective benefit of the Crown Guarantee to persons who are not intended to receive that benefit; and

(ii) is otherwise inconsistent with the intentions of the Crown in entering into the Guarantee.

The Crown Guarantee is withdrawn in respect of all new deposits following delivery of the withdrawal notice to Viaduct today. 

Eligible deposits up to the date of withdrawal continue to be covered. Deposits covered by the guarantee include the principal sum deposited, along with interest accruing in accordance with the terms of the deposit, up to $1 million per depositor.

Viaduct has not failed and there has been no event of default under the guarantee triggering the claims process.  No claims under the Crown guarantee would be considered for any depositors covered by the guarantee until a default event (as defined in the Guarantee Deed) has occurred.

Please note that due to commercial and legal considerations the Treasury will not be providing further comment on this matter at this stage.

ENDS