A Christchurch lender that mainly served the city’s Filipino community has been fined $15,000 for lending money without being registered.

4J Enterprise Limited kept lending for 18 months after it was told it could not do so without being properly registered and certified, the Financial Markets Authority said.

In the Christchurch District Court, Judge Elkin also sentenced company director Hope Suan to 140 hours of community work, and senior manager Juvy Suan to 150 hours.

The company offered loans of between $500 and $15,000, repaid over six months to two years. It said it charged annual interest of 33 per cent, but its own records showed some borrowers were charged as much as 55.61 per cent.

4J was warned in May 2024 that it needed to be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register, and certified by the Commerce Commission, before it could lend.

It carried on anyway, issuing 46 new loans worth $81,110 to 27 borrowers, and collecting about $65,000 in interest across 50 new and existing loans. It stopped collecting interest in November 2025.

“If you need a licence and registration, have them in place before you lend,” FMA executive director Louise Unger said.

The rules were there to make sure lenders met minimum standards and could be held to account under New Zealand’s consumer credit laws, she said.

The company pleaded guilty in June to a representative charge of providing a financial service without being registered. The Suans pleaded guilty as parties to the company’s offending.

The Commerce Commission investigated 4J and laid the charges. The FMA took over the prosecution when responsibility for consumer credit moved to it on 1 July.

The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of up to $300,000 for a company. Individuals face up to 12 months in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both.