The New Zealand Superannuation Fund believes it has got a strong case against the Bank of Portugal as it seeks to reverse the fate of a $NZ200 million ($A191.24 million) loan it's been forced to write off.
The fund is one of a number of investors filing debt recovery proceedings against Portugal's central bank, which excluded their loans from the bailout of the collapsed bank Banco Espirito Santo.
The fund's chief executive Adrian Orr told the New Zealand parliament's commerce committee on Thursday that there is a "very strong case" that the Bank of Portugal's actions were unlawful.
"The sum of money is substantial," he said.
"It is worthwhile, particularly given our confidence in our legal position to pursue this case."
The loan was part of the fund's cash investment strategy, which has been operating successfully since 2009 and earned it about $NZ900m.
The deliberate diversification of the fund's portfolio means it has weathered the one-off precautionary write-down.
The fund's chairman Gavin Walker told MPs: "Nobody, in my view, could have foreseen that action by the Bank of Portugal".
The four-year loan was arranged by investment bank Goldman Sachs through a finance vehicle called Oak Finance, which issued bonds to investors in July 2014.
Less than a month after the bonds were issued, Banco Espirito Santo's financial situation worsened and its chief executive was detained for questioning on suspicion of fraud and money laundering.
In August, the Bank of Portugal re-organised the failed bank's operations and assets, including all senior unsecured debt, to a new state-supported "good" bank called Novo Banco.
Goldman Sachs said it had written confirmation from the Bank of Portugal that included the Oak Finance loan, but the central bank then changed its mind, which the New Zealand Super Fund says is unlawful.
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