6 questions asked at 2024 Heartland Group hybrid AGM

Q1. Why don't the Big Four Australian banks offer reverse mortgages and why have most of them exited the vehicle finance market? Is it partly because the process of foreclosure provides reputational risk because no one likes to have their house or car taken away from them by a financier. How do we manage the obvious sensitivities around this issue when loans don't perform?

Q2. Mortgage brokers have never been more important in the Australian mortgage market, particularly with the continuing decline in branch numbers. How engaged are we with the Australian mortgage broking industry given that most of the Big Four Australian banks do not offer reverse mortgage products? What proportion of future reverse mortgages in Australia are we expecting to come from mortgage brokers and how do our direct sales of these products work?

Q3. As one of the 3 new Heartland directors, will John Harvey support putting up the Heartland remuneration report for a non-binding advisory vote at next year's AGM, complying with the legal system in Australia. Seeing as we are making such a big push into Australia, shouldn't we embrace Australian Governance standards? If not, don't we risk New Zealand being viewed by international investors as a governance backwater given that remuneration report voting has become standard in many countries.

Q4. Why are you seeking shareholder approval to refresh the placement capacity when this will happen automatically in April next year, 12 months after the $NZ105m placement? Doesn't this suggest you're looking at doing yet another selective big end of town institutional placement, which will further dilute your existing retail shareholders. When next raising capital, please make it pro-rata and renounceable which is the fairest system. Also, have you checked that no placement recipient has voted on this resolution?

Q5. Could new director Simon Beckett and the chair comment on the recruitment process that led to his appointment to the board. Was a head hunter involved and did Simon know any of our directors before engaging with the recruitment process?

Q6. Which of the 5 main proxy advisers - ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and NZSA - prepared a report ahead of today's AGM. Did any of them recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions, including on the re-election of Kate Mitchell ? If so, what reasons did they give and will you disclose the proxy votes before the debate on each resolution so shareholders can ask questions about the reasons if there have been any protest votes? Also, please advise the proxy position to the ASX/NZSX ahead of next year's AGM.

Thank you for your question. We will reply to you on this later.

Copyright © 2024 The Mayne Report. All rights reserved

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