I seem to recall that all this problem started because they found substantial anomalies in the UK business and they chose the parts of the business which suited them at the time and could recover the 50 million pounds held in Escrow. Had they just walked away and said nothing and then went back later to buy what was left after instigating investigations it might have been all terrific today. The ASIC issue is an accounting treatment issue which banks insurance and buikding companies also use in different variations and I'd say there is no definitive method to prove which is the best way to treat "work in progress" imo. If ASIC really wants to get technical it should investigate banks and insurance companies on.how they manipulate provisions for doubtful loans or claims and these are sometimes just a guess by actuaries which leads to their declared profits every year. The usually might be years when technically they might have had a profit drop but by clear manipulation of provisions could show a profit increase. If ASIC was so keen on earning a scalp they might investigate all banks and listed insurance companies but do they want to help destabilise the economic sentiment the RBA is trying to manipulate?
Why is it ok for the RBA and to.manipulate interest rates but not the banks and the banks to manipulate their profits by manipulating provisions? Probably because in banks it can't be proven but RBA is govt licensed to do as it pleases.
SGH Price at posting:
24.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held