Wellington - New Zealand finance company Dominion Finance Holdings (DFH) was trying to negotiate a deal that would keep it viable on Wednesday after stock market trading in its shares was suspended.

It is the 21st New Zealand finance company to run into difficulties because of the international credit squeeze in the last two years, leaving thousands of investors owed more than 1.75 billion New Zealand dollars (about 1.3 billion US dollars).

Chief executive Paul Cropp told the New Zealand Stock Exchange on Tuesday that the board of DFH was concerned about the liquidity position of its two wholly owned subsidiaries, Dominion Finance Group Limited (DFG) and North South Finance Limited (NSFL), to meet their ongoing payment obligations to debenture holders.

He said the main reason was the impact of the international credit crisis on investors' confidence and the inability of borrowing clients to refinance or repay loans.

Cropp said the board was talking to bankers, auditors and trustees about negotiating a repayment moratorium to alleviate liquidity pressures and restructure to ensure maximize investors' returns.

He said the company was still trading profitably and made a 2.6- million-New-Zealand-dollar profit before tax over April and May. (dpa)