A sum of nearly $398 million has been paid out by ING New Zealand to investors in its frozen Diversified Yield Fund (DYF) and Regular Income Fund (RIF). ING is also mailing letters confirming the payment over the next few days.

In July, nearly 98.5% of investors said 'yes' to ING's offer of 60 cents in the dollar for the DYF, and 62 cents in the RIF. The five year option was chosen by 85%. The option will observe the proceeds of those unit sales invested in an ANZ cash account for five years, at a fixed interest rate of 8.3 per cent per annum. By accepting the offer, the investors were supposed to waive their right to legal action.

Head of retail distribution Trisha Edmonds expressed in a letter to financial advisers, "We are pleased to have been able to meet our commitment to help investors affected by the global financial crisis, in an environment where many others have not had the same opportunity. This is the last step in what has been a long process and we are delighted to be able to make payment ahead of schedule."

It was after the investors faced heavy losses from their exposure to collateralized debt obligations that the funds, which have around 14,000 investors, were frozen in March last year.