Despite reporting gains in its general insurance operations, Desjardins Group, an integrated cooperative financial group, recorded combined surplus earnings in 2007 Q3 of Cdn$248 million, down Cdn$80 million or 24.4% from the same quarter of 2006.
“This decrease was primarily due to a write-down of 8.3%, or Cdn$160 million (pre-tax), related to non-bank-sponsored, asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) holdings,” Desjardins noted in a press release. “Excluding this write-down, combined surplus earnings before member dividends would have been Cdn$355 million, up more than 8%.”

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