NZ Super Fund loses $200m in Portuguese bank collapse

‘Almost $200 million in taxpayers’ money invested through the New Zealand Superannuation Fund has been lost after the collapse of a Portuguese bank where the money was invested – supposedly as a “risk-free” loan.

The fund, set up with public money to partly cover the retirement costs of Baby Boomers, revealed yesterday it had been caught up in the collapse of Banco Espirito Santo (BES), and a US$150 million investment made in July had been wiped out.

The investment was a contribution to a Goldman Sachs-organised loan to the bank, but only weeks after the money was injected it imploded. President and founder Ricardo Salgado was arrested as part of a criminal investigation into tax evasion.’

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