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The head of an Ontario pension plan has stepped down as a director of Home Capital Group Inc. after his fund agreed to provide a $2 billion loan to help offset a run on deposits at the struggling Canadian mortgage lender.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Keohane said he recused himself from the lending talks and stepped away from Home Capital’s board last Tuesday before formally resigning on Thursday. He also said that Kevin Smith, Home Capital’s chairman, has stepped down from HOOPP’s board.

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“We were involved in the deal with a syndicate of other lenders,” Keohane said in a telephone interview. “With the possibility of us getting involved with a deal with Home, clearly that changes the business relationship between HOOPP and Home. It’s obvious a conflict exists there.”

“I was not involved in any decision making on the other side of this at all,” he said.