Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board wrote down the value of $1.97 billion in asset-backed commercial paper by 23 per cent, resulting in an investment loss for its most recent fiscal year.
The writedown on non-bank commercial paper was $450 million for the year ended March 31, PSP Investments, as the fund manager is known, said in its annual report. PSP reported a loss on investments of 0.3 per cent for the 2008 fiscal year, the first decline since 2003.
Non-bank commercial paper hasn't traded in Canada since the market collapsed in August on concerns about U.S. subprime mortgage loans. PSP was part of a group of institutional investors that spent seven months drafting a restructuring plan for the frozen debt. PSP is the third-biggest holder of frozen ABCP in Canada, after Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
