MARGIN loans and inadequate disclosure may have derailed ABC Learning but outgoing chairman Sallyanne Atkinson says there is too much corporate regulation.
In her final public appearance before stepping down later this month, Mrs Atkinson said the "sky fell in" for ABC on February 26 when founder Eddy Groves and a number of other senior executives were caught out by a series of large margin loans.
The crisis slashed $760 million from ABC`s market capitalisation with the share price falling 40 per cent in a day as market rumours took over in the absence of any clarity about the company`s position.
Mrs Atkinson told an Australian Institute of Company Directors lunch yesterday that in those same dark days she was given just four days to settle her own margin loans.
And she conceded mistakes were made and that it was a steep learning curve for the board and for Mr Groves in particular, who went through a moment of depression but has since bounced back.
"Looking back, our disclosure was inadequate and the market didn`t trust us and wondered what else there was and that played a role," she said.
"It was a crisis of confidence but at the same time the fundamentals of the company remained strong - the childcare centres were still working well."
Despite being undone by margin loans and eventually selling 60 per cent of ABC`s US assets to Morgan Stanley Private Equity, Mrs Atkinson refused to call for greater regulation in the market place.
On the contrary, she believes there is too much regulation that is hurting the corporate sector as boards are spending too much time and money on ticking boxes about corporate governance.
"I don`t want to see a new layer of regulation about margin loans," she said, "everything should be governed by common sense and goodwill.
"You will find that directors taking out margin loans will now be much more sensitive about the situation."
But Mrs Atkinson said margin loans linked to chief executives with large share holdings might be a more problematic issue.
She is stepping down after seven years at ABC but will continue to work as a professional director with several other companies including media organisation APN.
