Agencies Archives - Page 4 of 6

18Nov

By Bob Ascah2 Comments

AIMCo CEO Compensation 2008-2020

This article follows a similar format as the analysis of ATB’s CEO compensation. We begin with some background on the creation of the corporation in 2007 from published and unpublished research. Then follows a series of charts illustrating the evolution of AIMCo CEO pay over the period. The concluding section investigates the question of pay equity by comparing the AIMCo chief’s compensation against the average compensation of AIMCo employees, peers- the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (Caisse), the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCMIC), and senior elected and appointed provincial officials. A slide deck is included at the bottom of this article. Background In 2007, the Alberta Investment Management Corporation Act was passed creating a board-governe...

ATB CEO Executive Compensation – unwrapped

28Oct

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, ATB

ATB CEO Executive Compensation – unwrapped

This article examines CEO executive compensation at Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB Financial) since it became a provincial agency or Crown corporation, in 1997. The focus of this article is how the return on capital or equity and the pay of the CEO are related over a 23-year period. Also, the question of fairness of compensation in relation to compensation of senior government officials, average ATB salaries, and the CEO of Canadian Western Bank (CWB) is canvassed. [The data used is the total of salary and benefits or total compensation and comes from ATB's annual reports. A separate PDF of the article and PowerPoint/PDF of the figures is produced at the bottom of the article for better viewing of the charts.} Background In 1994, Treasurer Jim Dinning was facing persistent and difficult q...

Another Downgrade from Moody’s: Aa2 to Aa3

4Oct

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, ATB, Credit Ratings

Another Downgrade from Moody’s: Aa2 to Aa3

Analysis and Opinion On 2 October 2020, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the Province's debt to Aa3 from Aa2 while revising the outlook to Stable from Rating under Review. The short report and review was initiated on 31 August 2020 shortly after the provincial government's skeletal First Quarter Fiscal Update. The downgrade leaves Alberta one notch above the single A rating category. Downgrades in theory mean the borrower will have to pay higher rates of interest on its debt. The downgrade was expected and gave a balanced view on the fiscal picture acknowledging the province's strong liquidity position and the province's fiscal capacity to "enact additional tax measures to support revenue growth, which nevertheless the provincial governments have been reluctant to fully use in recent y...

8Sep

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, Budget, Energy, Government Finances, Politics, Uncategorized

After waiting an extra 2 months 2019-20- some major surprises missed in February forecast

Updated 10 November 2020 In an earlier report on the crucial role played by the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission (APMC) in government finances, we highlighted the Commission's role in overseeing the North West Redwater Upgrader investment, commenced in the latter years of the Stelmach regime. We raised some doubts, given APMC's record with the North West Redwater Partnership (NWRP), about its competence in negotiating with TC Energy on the Keystone XL project. APMC is also the agency tasked with negotiating the Energy East commitment and the controversial oil-by rail contracts. With the two-month delay in the publication of the Government of Alberta's Annual Report and audited consolidated financial statements, the public finally has been apprised that Alberta's budget shortfal...

24Aug

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, ATB

ATB quietly reports another losing quarter- Analysis and Opinion

Curtis Stange, ATB President and CEO Source ATB.com On Thursday 13 August, ATB Financial issued its financial results for its quarter ending 30 June 2020. The rosy press release "Supporting Alberta's economic recovery" acknowledged the "triple impact event" of COVID--19, oil price shock, and market volatility, while affirming the results "demonstrate its financial strength while supporting customers." Buried in the news release was the fact that ATB had lost $114 million in the quarter driven mainly by another $245 million provision for loan loss. This is the second consecutive quarterly loss for ATB which lost $93 million in the previous quarter. Not to be deterred by persistent negative news, the release boasted: In the first quarter, ATB delivered solid operating revenue of $424.6 m...

20Jul

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, Financial Institutions, Opinion/Research

AIMCo’s Board reports

Updated 21 July 2020 On 9 July AIMCo's board of directors issued a summary of results of its own review of the "VOLTS investment strategy." VOLTS stands for Volatility Trading Strategy. The seven page summary report, dated 30 June, was posted on AMICo's website. Board's mandate Three priorities, set by the Board during its 14 May announcement, were to: limit the damage from the volatility trading strategy; confirm that no other investment strategies could generate substantial losses in very unusual circumstances; and undertake a comprehensive review of the volatility trading strategy to identify lessons learned and corresponding enhancements to AIMCo’s investment and risk management processes....(to) be shared with AIMCo’s clients and shareholder with a target completion of mid-June."...

Heritage Fund loses lustre- Time to rethink its existence-Analysis and Opinion

14Jul

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, Government Finances, Opinion/Research

Heritage Fund loses lustre- Time to rethink its existence-Analysis and Opinion

The Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund (AHSTF), established by Peter Lougheed in 1976, has been seen as a Crown jewel of Alberta’s fiscal management. Recently, the AHSTF long viewed by rating agencies as a vehicle to stabilize finances, has begun to lose its lustre. Is the Heritage Fund merely a relic of Alberta’s golden day in the sun when money poured into provincial coffers? Should the AHSTF be eliminated given the rise of Alberta’s debt. How does the reporting on the AHSTF’s management obscure what should be a laser focus on debt management? (more…)

15Jun

By Bob Ascah1 Comment

Agencies, ATB, Uncategorized

ATB Financial: how results compare

CAUTION: Writing this blog has been the most challenging undertaking since I began Albertarecessionwatch.com (now Abpolecon.ca) four years ago. Writing about a former employer and one of the "Crown jewels" of Alberta's public sector and knowing so many former colleagues still working at ATB creates a dilemma when examining critically this institution's financial condition. ATB's financial condition should be of interest to all Albertans who have a stake in the success, or failure, of this venerable institution. This post has been frustrating to write because there is so much information available on banking institutions used to compare ATB's performance. The ocean of financial information has so many layers built up over years by both internal organizational dynamics as well as external r...

1Jun

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, ATB

ATB facing headwinds (Part 1)

Directors and Politics ATB Financial will have three new directors as it charts a challenging course forward. On 13 May, Jim Davidson, Andrew S. Fraser, and J. Robert Logan were quietly appointed to ATB's board effective 16 June 2020 for three- year terms. At the same time Wendy Henkelman (a director since 2014) and Mary Ellen Neilson (director since 2017) were re-appointed. No press release has been issued to date by either ATB or the Treasury Board President and Minister of Finance, although at ATB's virtual public annual meeting, the new directors were expected to be introduced. Given the surprising absence of public disclosure, the following disclosure is a well educated guess of who these new board members are. Jim DavidsonSource: https://oilandgascouncil.com/event-speakers/...

Keystone-XL, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and the Borrowers

9Apr

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, Credit Ratings, Energy, Energy, Government Finances, Opinion/Research

Keystone-XL, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and the Borrowers

At the end of March, the Alberta cabinet passed Order in Council 104/2020 which authorized the “President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance to make advances to or purchase securities of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission.” In addition, the Minister was given the authority to raise: “up to $2 000 000 000, by the issue and sale from time to time of notes, bonds, debentures or interest-bearing or non-interest-bearing treasury bills issued by the Crown in right of Alberta or any other securities under which the Crown in right of Alberta is the debtor (collectively referred to hereafter as “Government securities”) for the purpose of making advances to or purchasing securities of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission in respect of the development of a...