CDP Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, today announced that the limit for its commercial paper program, comprised of short-term notes, has been raised from $5 billion to $7 billion.

CDP says it will therefore continue to provide financing at advantageous rates to the Caisse’s investment groups seeking to use financial leverage to boost their investment returns. CDP Financial issues debt securities in the markets at optimal rates thanks to its high credit rating.

The commercial paper program will now include a multi-currency component making it possible to offer short-term notes in pounds sterling, euros, U.S. and Canadian dollars, yen and Swiss francs. These notes will be issued from London.

“Under this program, CDP Financial fulfills its mission to provide support to the Caisse’s investment groups,” stated Ghislain Parent, president, CDP Financial and Caisse executive vp, finance, treasury and strategic initiatives. “Thanks to the new multi-currency component, the investment groups will be able to borrow in the currency of their choice to finance their investments.”

CDP Financial has been assigned the highest issuer credit ratings by Standard and Poor’s (S&P), Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS) and Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s). For its short-term notes program, CDP Financial has received a rating of A-1 (high) from S&P, R-1 (high) from DBRS and P-1 from Moody’s. CDP Financial’s financing programs are guaranteed by the Caisse.

The Caisse is a financial institution that manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2006, it held $143.5 billion of net assets.