UDC Finance Limited

UDC Finance Limited is a finance company in New Zealand. UDC's main expertise is now in providing asset-backed finance for plant, vehicles and equipment, where they do not rely on land or buildings as security. UDC also offers a range of investment products such as secure term investments and call accounts. Now a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited UDC's investments are not guaranteed by ANZ. Combined with Esanda Finance, its Australian partner, UDC is the 15th largest finance company in the world.

The dominant figure in the first 30 years of UDC was founder manager Dr Otto Simon Heymann (1887–1974) Ph.D. (Heidelberg), a German banker who came to New Zealand at the age of 50 after fleeing Nazi Germany. He was Deputy General Manager of Dresdner Bank then second largest of the big three German banks. He created this business in Wellington in 1938 with the backing of local businessmen. In accordance with government policy of the day, no banking licence would be issued to them.

In 1951, the company became known as United Dominions Corporation (South Pacific) Limited under London-based bankers, United Dominions Trust Limited, which had been invited to purchase a shareholding to establish international ties. In the short term this strategy soon proved to have been a mistake. As a now foreign-owned company its ability to expand was limited by government regulation. However, in the 1960s the government relaxed regulations of trading banks and finance houses, allowing United Dominions Trust to sell 20% of its shares. UDC's own bankers did not participate but elected to set up their own independent operation, BNZ Finance Limited, and those shares were instead sold to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in 1965.

Dr Heymann retired when past the age of 80 and handed the reins to his son Stephen Heymann who, a short time later, died young of cancer in 1972. Dr Gert August Lau Ll.D. (Leipzig), also a former Dresdner Bank employee, maintained a close interest in UDC until his sudden death in 1976 when he was a Director of both UDC and ANZ and other major private as well as listed companies.

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