Morningstar DBRS Confirms Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec at AAA and CDP Financial Inc. at AAA and R-1 (high), Stable Trends

DBRS Limited (Morningstar DBRS) confirmed the Issuer Rating of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (La Caisse) at AAA. Morningstar DBRS also confirmed the credit ratings of CDP Financial Inc.'s Long-Term Debt at AAA and its Canadian Short-Term Promissory Notes, Euro Commercial Paper (CP) Notes, and U.S. CP Notes at R-1 (high). All trends are Stable.

KEY CREDIT RATING CONSIDERATIONS
The credit ratings are supported by the stable legislative and governance frameworks that provides an exclusive mandate to La Caisse to manage assets for multiple large Québec public and para-public depositors which include the province's large public pension and insurance plans. La Caisse has a sophisticated investment team, broad expertise across diverse asset classes and geographies, and access to leading third-party managers and investment opportunities. Because of its dual mandate to optimize returns and support the economic development of Québec, La Caisse has unique investment risks and opportunities through its above-average Québec exposure. The credit ratings are further supported by La Caisse's $473 billion net asset position, substantial liquidity available, low recourse debt burden, solid long-term investment returns and lack of direct pension or insurance liabilities. CDP Financial Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of La Caisse, issues debt with recourse to La Caisse. The credit ratings on the debt issued by CDP Financial Inc. are supported by the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee provided by La Caisse.

CREDIT RATING DRIVERS
Morningstar DBRS would downgrade the credit ratings if there were legislative changes that compromise La Caisse's exclusive asset management mandates. In addition, sustained investment losses, resulting in a material decrease in net assets and higher debt leverage, would have negative ratings implications.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE
Legislated Framework: AAA
La Caisse was created by the Act respecting the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec of the National Assembly of Québec and manages the funds of 48 depositors. More than 98% of La Caisse's net assets come from exclusive legislated mandates. These depositors are governed by their own laws and regulations, which require them to invest their funds with La Caisse. This produces a highly captive asset base, ensuring continuity in La Caisse's operations and investment strategy. La Caisse's board members are appointed by the Government of Québec, with at least two-thirds being independent directors. The Board of Directors appoints the President and Chief Executive Officer with the approval of the Government. La Caisse acts independently of the provincial government and makes decisions in the best interests of its depositors.

Plan Sponsors and Demographics of a Plan's Membership: AAA
La Caisse's major depositors include large provincial and public sector pension and insurance plans which have a stable financial profile. As at YE2024, La Caisse managed $473 billion in net assets for 48 public and para-public depositors. The largest depositors include the Québec Pension Plan ($142 billion), the Retirement Plans Sinking Fund ($123 billion) and the Government and Public Employees Retirement Plan ($91 billion). In addition to these pension funds, other large depositors include insurance, pension, and government related funds. Contributions to La Caisse are largely determined by the demographic trends in the province of Québec, which is experiencing an aging population, and to employment conditions, including for provincial government employees.

Management Framework: AAA
La Caisse has a unique dual mandate to achieve optimal returns on capital and support the economic development of the province of Québec. While this can result in an oversized involvement in Québec capital markets, La Caisse's investment decision are independent of political influence and its Québec investment have historically overperformed. La Caisse has a strong and well-established management team. The team has put in place a stable and coherent investment strategy with a robust track record of delivering consistent strong results in the past 10 years. Since late April 2024, the activities of La Caisse's real estate subsidiaries, Ivanhoé Cambridge and Otéra Capital, as well as their governance structures, have been integrated into La Caisse.

Financial Resources: AAA
With $473 billion in net assets, La Caisse has ample financial resources to execute a diversified investment strategy and gain access to world class investment opportunities and third-party investment managers. These resources also allow La Caisse to absorb some volatility in its returns over time while continuing to meet depositor cash flow requirements.

Funding Status: AAA
As an exclusive asset manager, La Caisse does not have any direct pension liabilities and receives a AAA score for the funding status.

Liabilities: AAA
On December 31, 2024, La Caisse's investment-related liabilities were $93.9 billion, up from $70.5 billion in 2023. This increase was mainly driven by rising derivative and repo liabilities and the growth of the net asset base. La Caisse generally sells Government of Canada and related issuers' securities under repurchase agreements with relatively short contract terms. La Caisse, like other Morningstar DBRS-rated pension fund asset managers, makes use of derivatives to achieve various portfolio objectives. La Caisse's recourse debt liabilities remain prudent at $41 billion, or 8.0% of adjusted net assets, up from $36 billion in 2023, or 7.7% of adjusted net assets. La Caisse's policy limits recourse debt to 10% of adjusted net assets, providing sufficient room for cyclical fluctuations in asset values. La Caisse's CP programs have a $4.0 billion combined limit for the Canadian and European programs and a USD 12.0 billion limit for the US program, which are adequate considering the size of La Caisse's net assets, its liquidity and CP management policies.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS
There were no Environmental/Social/Governance factor(s) that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how Morningstar DBRS considers ESG factors within the Morningstar DBRS analytical framework can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors in Credit Ratings (May 16, 2025), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/454196.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is the Canadian Methodology for Rating Public Pension Funds & Exclusive Asset Managers (June 3, 2025), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/455482. In addition, Morningstar DBRS uses the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors in Credit Ratings (May 16, 2025), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/454196) in its consideration of ESG factors.

The following methodology has also been applied: Morningstar DBRS Global Corporate Criteria (February 3, 2025), https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/447186

The credit rating methodologies used in the analysis of this transaction can be found at: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/about/methodologies.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found on the issuer page at https://dbrs.morningstar.com

The credit ratings were initiated at the request of the rated entity.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the credit rating process for these credit rating actions.

Morningstar DBRS had access to the accounts, management, and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with these credit rating actions.

These are solicited credit ratings.

For more information on Morningstar DBRS' policy regarding the solicitation status of credit ratings, please refer to the Credit Ratings Global Policy, which can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Understanding Ratings section of the website: https://dbrs.morningstar.com/understanding-ratings

These credit ratings are endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom, and by DBRS Ratings GmbH for use in the European Union, respectively. The following additional regulatory disclosures apply to endorsed credit ratings:

The conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are generally resolved within a 12-month period. Morningstar DBRS' trends and credit ratings are monitored.

For further information on Morningstar DBRS historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: https://registers.esma.europa.eu/cerep-publication. For further information on Morningstar DBRS historical default rates published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a central repository, see https://data.fca.org.uk/#/ceres/craStats.

Lead Analyst: Patrick Douville, Vice President, Global Insurance & Pension Ratings
Rating Committee Chair: Marcos Alvarez, Managing Director, Global Financial Institution Ratings
Initial Rating Date: September 23, 2002

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit https://dbrs.morningstar.com.

DBRS Limited
DBRS Tower, 181 University Avenue, Suite 600
Toronto, ON M5H 3M7 Canada
Tel. +1 416 593-5577