Hot on the heels of appointing a new chief executive, consumer finance company Thorn Group has appointed a new general counsel and head of risk. The new hire, Alexandra Rose, is a corporate lawyer who has been in the profession for 20 years and has worked at Allianz, Commonwealth Bank and IAG. On Monday the company announced that it had appointed Peter Lirantzis as its new CEO. Heritage Bank, Australia's largest mutual bank, plans to triple the size of its business banking portfolio over the next three years. Speaking yesterday at Heritage's AGM, chairman Kerry Betros, told shareholders the revamp of the business banking division was part of a plan to bring greater diversification to a balance sheet that is more than 95 per cent reliant on housing loans. The diversification plan will also see the Toowoomba-based bank push into western Sydney and parts of Melbourne over the next few years. Heritage will open its first branch outside Queensland at Castle Hill in Sydney today (31 October), with a second branch slated for Parramatta in December. New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority's litigation fund has been boosted for the first time since the regulator was established in 2011 with a $2 million budget. Now the Government has bumped that up to $6 million for the 2020 financial year to enable the FMA to take action on misconduct by banks and other financial institutions and service providers. The FMA blew out its 2019 budget by almost $1 million. Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Kris Faafoi said the increased funding "ensures the regulator is well placed to respond to misconduct and it sends a clear message that the FMA is resourced to take on those with deep pockets".