MEDIA RELEASE
November 2, 2007

Consumer concerned at lack of Geneva information

The Consumers’ Institute is gravely concerned at the lack of information being provided to investors in Geneva Finance, who are being asked to make important decisions about the future of the company at a meeting on Monday.

Today Consumer asked to be represented at the meeting on behalf of those investors who were not able to attend, or those who did not properly understand the seriousness of the situation they were being confronted with. Geneva has proposed a six-month moratorium on repaying investors.

Consumers’ Institute Chief Executive Sue Chetwin said: “We wanted to put some questions to Geneva about the lack of disclosure of the company’s financial position to investors. It declined, saying the meeting was private between the company and its investors.”

Ms Chetwin said some of the questions we would have asked on behalf of consumers would have been: “Are shareholders tipping in more cash to assist the company? Will auditors be at the meeting to answer questions and confirm the accuracy of the company’s financial position? Why is there such a lack of information to investors compared with information available to management and their bankers? Is there anything else hidden from view? What is the situation with loans to directors? What is the guarantee investors will get their money back in six months?

Consumer said last month that investors were being asked to make a decision about the quality and credibility of Geneva’s management team. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded to D.

Those attending Monday’s meeting should be looking for strong evidence that Geneva can trade its way out of difficulty, Ms Chetwin said.

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