Disclosure Statement
Important information about our business
License status and conditions
Plinth Finance Limited holds a Financial Advice Provider licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to provide financial advice services. Plinth Finance Limited is not bound by any restrictions on this license. Plinth Finance Limited trading as Plinth Finance, and the Financial Services Provider Number is FSP1011613.
Our office contact details
Address: 67 Inverness Drive, Pyes Pa, Tauranga, 3112
Phone: 021 582 482
Email: info@plinthfinance.co.nz
Website: www.plinthfinance.nz
Nature and scope of advice
Our services
- Home Loans
- Business Loans
- Commercial Loans
- Financial Health Check
Products we can provide financial advice about
- First Home Loans, Refinance & Consolidation, Investment Property Loans, New Build & Renovation Loans, Loan Refixing
- Business Acquisition & Expansion, Working Capital & Cash Flow Solutions, Asset & Vehicle Finance, Trade & Invoice Finance
- Commercial Property - Owner Occupied, Commercial Property – Investment, Property Development - Subdivision, Commercial & Residential, Commercial Refinancing & Restructuring
Product providers we might recommend
- Avanti, ANZ, ASB, Basecorp, Bizcap, BNZ, CFML, Cressida Capital, DBR, Finbase, First Mortgage Trust, Funding Partners, Heartland Bank, Liberty, Pallas Capital, Pepper Money, Plus Finance, Prospa, SBS Bank, Simplify, Southern Cross Partners, The Co-operative Bank, The Lending People, Tower (General Insurance Referrals ), Vincent Capital, Westpac, XCEDA, XE
Our fees
For most standard residential home loans, our advice is completely free to you. Plinth Finance is paid a commission by the lender once your loan settles, which does not add any extra cost to your mortgage.
When a fee may apply
We may charge a fee if your lending needs are complex, or if the loan provider does not pay us a commission. Specific situations where a fee may apply include:
- Specialised lending: Such as complex commercial and business lending, or securing finance through non-bank lenders.
- Withdrawn applications: If we secure a loan approval for you but you choose not to proceed, we may charge a fee that fairly reflects the time and effort spent on your application.
- Early cancellation: If a mortgage we arrange for you is repaid or cancelled within thirty-six (36) months of settlement, we may charge a fee for the initial financial advice and service provided.
Fee transparency
If your situation requires a fee, you can be assured that there will be no hidden surprises. The cost will depend on the nature and scope of the advice, calculated as either a set dollar amount or a percentage-based fee. We will always clearly disclose the exact fee and agree upon it with you upfront before we proceed.
Commissions
When we arrange a loan for you, the lender typically pays us a commission. This does not cost you anything extra and is usually paid in two parts:
- Initial commission: A percentage of your total loan amount, paid to us by the lender once your loan settles.
- Ongoing commission: A much smaller percentage of your remaining loan balance, usually calculated and paid to us monthly for the duration of your loan.
- Referral fees: We sometimes work with trusted referral partners who may pay us a fee if we introduce you to their services.
Conflicts of interest or other incentives
At Plinth Finance, your best interests always come first. While we maintain professional relationships with various lenders, our advice process is designed to ensure our recommendations are based entirely on your unique goals and financial circumstances.
We are primarily compensated through commissions paid by lenders once a mortgage settles. This commission is generally based on the size of your loan. In some cases, we may also receive referral fees from trusted partners or minor non-monetary incentives from providers, such as invitations to business events or small gifts. Regardless of these arrangements, our priority remains providing the most suitable advice for your situation.
How we manage conflicts of Interest
To ensure our advice remains objective and transparent, we take the following steps:
- Client-first focus: We prioritise your needs by recommending products based on their suitability for you.
- Registers & monitoring: We maintain and regularly monitor formal registers of conflicts of interest, gifts, and incentives.
- Professional training: Our advisers undergo annual training specifically focused on identifying and managing potential conflicts.
- Quality assurance: We undertake an annual Compliance Assurance Review to ensure our business meets all professional and legal standards.
Our duties and obligations to you
We are bound by the duties of the Financial Markets Conduct Act (431I, 431K, 431L and 431M) to:
- Meet the standards of competence, knowledge, and skill set out in the Code of Conduct
- Give priority to the clients’ interest, and
- Exercise care, diligence and skill, and
- Meet the standards of ethical behaviour, conduct, and client care set out in the Code of Conduct.
Our complaints process
If you have a concern or complaint, please contact our Complaints Manager, Poornima Premarathne, at poornima@plinthfinance.co.nz or 021 582 482.
Once we receive your complaint, we will follow this process:
- Acknowledgment: We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days.
- Review: We will investigate the issue and may contact you if we need further information.
- Resolution: We aim to resolve all complaints within 15 working days of our acknowledgment. We will contact you by phone or email to discuss our proposed solution.
If we need more time to perform a full investigation, we will let you know within the timeframe.
If we cannot reach a solution;
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you are not satisfied with our proposed resolution, you can contact our independent Dispute Resolution Scheme.
This is a free, independent service that helps resolve disagreements between financial providers and their clients.
- Scheme Name: Financial Services Complaints Limited
- Address: PO Box 5967, Wellington 6140
- Phone:0800 347 257
- Email:complaints@fscl.org.nz
