At the end of last year, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec had nearly $1.7 billion in commercial paper notes sold by funds that were asking for emergency loans, including bonds sponsored by Coventree.

A spokesperson for the Caisse declined to tell Bloomberg News how much of the notes that were still owned.

This week, shares of Toronto-based Coventree—a structured finance firm—plunged after it was unable to refinance some of its maturing debt because of a global credit crunch.

The Caisse also invested in the company, owning almost 1.35 million shares at the end of 2006, which were then worth $19.9 million. Today, that investment would be worth about $5.27 million.

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