Halifax Liquidator KPMG Releases FAQs Update Regarding Distributions

KPMG, the Liquidator of Halifax Investment Services Pty Ltd, has released recently an update to investors regarding distributions.

As at 8 September 2022, KPMG has distributed AUD74.3m to 3,416 Investors.

In addition to the above, approximately 3,440 claims with a combined value of AUD17.9m remain unclaimed as at the date of this update. The Investor Portal remains open for the submission of late claims and the liquidator requests all Investors to finalise their claims as soon as possible. Please refer to the Investor Update dated 7 June 2022 for claim submission key dates. Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Interim Distribution are provided below.

1. I have received my Interim Distribution, when will I receive a second distribution?

We currently estimate that a second distribution will be paid towards the end of 2022. The timing of subsequent distributions is subject to a range of factors which impact the calculation of distributions payable to Investors, including:

• the finalisation of total investor claims;

• resolution of a small number of Investor disputes; and

• realisation of residual open positions remaining within the Halifax Portfolio.

An illustration of how these factors impact the calculation of subsequent distributions is provided below at Question 2.

2. Will my next payment be the remaining 50% of my claim amount? Not necessarily.

Pursuant to the orders of the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of New Zealand, Investors' entitlement to the assets of Halifax AU and Halifax NZ is determined by reference to their proportionate entitlement as at 27 November 2018. Investor account balances as at 27 November 2018 (end of day 26 November 2018) are therefore used to determine each Investors' proportionate entitlement relative to the total claim pool, and is not the amount that each investor will be paid.

3. I received an email with payment advice information, but I have not received the funds in my account. What should I do?

Please log back into the Investor Portal and review or download your claim submission summary which will include the bank account details nominated by you upon submission of your claim, and confirm that your bank account details are correct. You can access your claim submission summary by clicking the paperclip icon heading on the Investor Portal home page. When reviewing the bank account details recorded in the Investor Portal, please ensure that you have:

• entered a valid Bank Account Name (not a bank name or account type);

• entered a valid SWIFT Code or IBAN (where relevant);

• selected the correct Bank Country from the country drop-down box;

• entered an Account Number of a sufficient length; and

• ​have not entered any hyphens or spaces in the data fields.

If you do not receive payment within 5 business days after the receipt of a payment advice email, and the bank account information recorded in your claim submission summary is correct, please notify our office via email at au-fmhalifaxportal@kpmg.com.au, where the Liquidators will provide further instructions.

Please note that international payments with invalid bank account details are taking on average four weeks to bounce back. Where the payment has not bounced back after four weeks has passed, the Liquidators will conduct a bank trace.

4. I have submitted my claim via the Investor Portal but have not received an Interim Distribution. When will I receive payment?

As at the date of this update the Liquidators have paid 83% (in value) of eligible claims. 11% (in value) of eligible claims have been allocated to a payment batch for processing, and the remaining 6% (in value) are subject to verification. The Liquidators are processing Interim Distributions in batches of approximately 200-300 payments at a time.

Please note that the tick shown within the Investor Portal indicates that the identity verification has been submitted for one individual. In circumstances in which two identity verifications are required, and two have been submitted, two ticks will appear. These ticks do not indicate that the claim has been verified. A KPMG team member will contact you if there is an issue with your claim.

As at the date of this update, approximately 3,440 Investor claims have not been submitted. Should you require assistance with submitting your claim, please contact this office via email at au-fmhalifaxportal@kpmg.com.au.

5. I'd like to change the bank account details that are currently recorded in the Investor Portal. What should I do?

Your bank account details can be updated by clicking “Edit” on the right-hand side of your claim within the Investor Portal. Once your claim has been verified by the Liquidators, no changes can be made by Investors. If you need to change your bank account details after this period, please contact KPMG via email at au-fmhalifaxportal@kpmg.com.au.

6. Can I claim a tax loss on the difference between the distribution I receive from the Liquidators and the value of my Halifax account?

As noted previously, the Liquidators are unable to provide advice regarding the preparation of tax returns and recommend that Investors seek independent advice from a suitably qualified accountant or legal practitioner.

The Halifax Helpdesk team at helpdesk@halifaxonline.com.au can provide copies of account statements on request.

7. How much was recovered from the sale of positions recorded in my Halifax account?

As part of the close out process, the majority of Investor accounts were consolidated into the Halifax master accounts held within the Interactive Brokers AU and Interactive Brokers NZ platforms. We are therefore unable to provide a close out position for each client account.

On request, the Liquidators can provide you with a statement as at 30 November 2021 (the last available statement prior to close out) which will set out the market value of shares and currency shortly prior to close out.

8. When will the Investor Portal be closed and the total value of Investor claims finalised?

As at the date of this update the Investor Portal remains open and accessible to Investors. There are a small number of Investors that, for various reasons, have not received a Distribution Notice to enable them to submit a claim via the Investor Portal. The Liquidators and their staff are working with these Investors to determine their proportionate entitlement. Once these Investors receive access to the Investor Portal, they will receive 35 days to submit their claim and the Investor Portal will be closed shortly thereafter. The Liquidators will provide at least three days' notice prior to closing the Investor Portal.

Please refer to the investor update dated 7 June 2022 for further information regarding key dates for the submission of claims.