ABCP mess nearing resolution

Originally from our sister publication, Advisor.ca.

Investors who had their assets frozen in the third-party Asset-Backed Commercial Paper fiasco of 2007 are now one step closer to their money.

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) have appointed Ernst & Young to administer the distribution of funds to eligible investors.

The accounting firm will oversee the distribution of about $59.875 million collected by the two regulators from the firms at the centre of the failed ABCP market:

  • Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce/CIBC World Markets Inc. which paid $21.7 million to the OSC;
  • HSBC Bank of Canada, paid $5.925 million to the OSC;
  • Scotia Capital, paid $28.95 million to IIROC;
  • Canaccord Financial, $3.1 million to IIROC; and
  • Credential Securities, $200,000 to IIROC.

Ernst & Young will begin contacting potentially eligible investors by mail this month with details regarding eligibility criteria to participate in the distribution and the distribution process.

Eligible investors will be required to submit a completed participation form to the administrator by June 30, 2012. The intent is to distribute the funds directly to eligible investors in September 2012 after the allocation is determined.

Additional information and eligibility requirements are available in materials posted by the Administrator online at www.ey.com/ca/OSCIIROC-ABCP.

For a history of the ABCP mess, read Scrap Paper: A guide to the ABCP mess.