Deal reached to salvage billions in commercial paper crisis

An agreement in principle to rescue about $33-billion worth of short-term debt has been reached, a group of investors working to solve the ills of asset-backed commercial paper said Sunday.

The troubled paper, which many Canadian companies and pension funds hold on their books, has been effectively frozen since late summer because the financial industry can't value the investments, in part because they were linked to the collapsing subprime mortgage industry in the United States.

The Pan-Canadian Investors Committee, headed by Bay Street lawyer Purdy Crawford, said the deal covers 20 of 22 member trusts with investments that were devastated by the credit crunch that followed the collapse of the American subprime lending market.

Crawford said he believes the deal "will allow noteholders to increase long-term value and significantly decrease risk, of the outstanding ABCP," ahead of a looming Jan. 31 deadline.

"I am confident that this plan will provide most holders of outstanding commercial paper with the opportunity to receive the full repayment of principal by holding restructured notes to maturity."

The new deal is expected to get final approval by next March.

Measures to be taken under the deal would include the creation of two master asset partnerships to handle different series of debt notes.

The committee said it expects most of the restructured notes would receive a Triple-A credit rating "which, together with the full transparency of the underlying assets supporting these notes, will facilitate trading."

While some of the ABCP may drop below its original par value, the vast majority can have "a reasonable expectation" to receive full value over time and will gain some insulation from external events affecting credit markets, Crawford said

Under the plan, a $14-billion margin funding facility has been arranged through a combination of investors, dealer bank asset providers and banks. Short-term asset-backed commercial paper held by the trusts will be exchanged for longer-dated notes.

The new structures are expected to reduce the risk of the notes triggering margin calls from creditors demanding their investments be repaid.