RE: ABCP90% of the $2 billions was sold by NBF.
Most of it was sold to institutions and the balance to retail
clients via in-house mutual funds.
All ABCP sold were rated R1 by DBRS.
Brokerage houses make a market on CP.
They will sell them to you and buy it back from you as principal
and not as agent.
ABCP holders wanted out all at the same time and not roll them over.
The issuers did not have the money to buy them back from NBF.
So NBF stopped making a market on them.
Clients became very upset and mad.
It's a situation very similar to a run on a bank, when all clients rush to the bank and want to withdraw their money.
NBF risked loosing clients and also their reputation.
Enter the bank. They own NBF.
They were able to come up with $2 billions and buy all outstanding
issues of ABCP from NBF.
Had NBF been independant, they would not have survive such an event.