A provincial appointee has resigned from OPSEU’s pension board even though he was cleared of any conflict of interest after joining troubled mortgage lender Home Capital’s board, the Star has learned.

Alan Hibben — a former RBC Capital Markets head of strategy and key adviser to Premier Kathleen Wynne on the privatization of Hydro One — has stepped down from the board of OPTrust, which runs the jointly sponsored Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union Pension Plan.

Hibben was one of the province’s five appointees to the pension board. There are also five union-appointed directors.

After accepting a position on Home Capital’s board, he approached Conflict of Interest Commissioner Sidney Linden for his counsel.

Linden, a retired chief justice, said last week there was no conflict of interest in serving on the boards of both the private mortgage lender and the public pension fund.

But Hibben decided to step down from OPTrust’s board.

“I wish them all the best,” he said on Thursday.

Treasury Board President Liz Sandals praised Hibben.

“This was Mr. Hibben’s choice. He made his own decision. I’d like to thank him for his service,” said Sandals.

“He made a great contribution when he was at OPTrust certainly. We want to make sure with any of our appointees . . . that we are getting people with great financial knowledge to bring to the policy-making role of the board,” she said, adding a replacement has yet to be selected.

The Ontario Securities Commission is investigating Home Capital after it was alleged that three current and former executives broke the law in a scandal involving falsified loan applications.

Hibben was named to the company’s board on May 5 as part of a new focus on corporate governance at the firm.

But he became a political hot potato because of his role with OPTrust.

Union president Warren (Smokey) Thomas wrote to Premier Kathleen Wynne on May 8 that it was “not appropriate” for Hibben to sit on both boards.

“OPSEU, as sponsor and on behalf of its affected members, strenuously objects to Alan Hibben being a government appointee to the OPSEU Pension Trust while he holds the position of director on the board of Home Capital Group,” said Thomas.

In the Legislature, the Progressive Conservatives repeatedly attacked the governing Liberals over the matter — even though Hibben is himself a long-time Tory member and donor.

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Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli (Nipissing) said Thursday that the party “had concerns” over the optics.

“He’s doing … the right thing in this case,” said Fedeli.

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