Posted
Billed as the "biggest float of the year", the listing of online small business lender Prospa has been postponed just 15 minutes before it was due to hit the boards.
The company has released a statement saying it was delaying the listing — it hopes for just 48 hours — due to inquiries from the regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
"The JLMs [joint listing partners] and Prospa are seeking to clarify queries raised by ASIC yesterday in relation to Prospa's small business loan terms, in the context of an industry-wide review into financial services small business loan terms," the statement said.
The ABC understands the company was contacted late yesterday by ASIC, after the regulator had months to peruse the prospectus.
The so-called "fintech" industry, which is simply online small business lending, has come under particularly close scrutiny following revelations in Prospa's prospectus, including an average lending rate of 41.3 per cent.
The prospectus also details how tougher rules around fee and interest rate disclosure could "have a materially adverse effect on the perception of distributors or borrowers of the cost of Prospa's products relative to other financial products".
More to come.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, company-news, small-business, internet-technology, australia