Two Nordic pension giants have been appointed as co-lead plaintiffs in a class action case against Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

Sweden’s AP7 and Norway’s NBIM, which is responsible for the investments of the Government Pension Fund Global, are the co-lead plaintiffs in a securities class action case against SVB, in Federal court in the United States.

It is alleged that several of SVB’s executive officers misrepresented and concealed the significant financial, and liquidity, pressure the bank faced due to increasing interest rates and a reduction in merger and acquisition activity, which led to the bank’s collapse. As a result, SVB shareholders suffered significant financial losses.

In court documents, it was stated: “Overall, the record establishes that Norges and AP7 are sophisticated investors and experienced litigants in securities class actions who will run this litigation responsibly. Norges and AP7 are appointed as lead plaintiff in this consolidated action.”

In August 2023, AP7 was also named lead plaintiff in the class action against Signature Bank. Despite assurances of the opposite, Signature Bank experienced a significant liquidity crisis in March 2023 resulting in one of the largest bank failures in US history.

“Legal actions are one of AP7’s ownership tools to protect the interests of our savers. AP7 takes advantage of the opportunity to pursue litigation through class actions against companies that have violated the law or acted against the interests of shareholders negatively affecting the share price.

"It is part of the active ownership that claims accountability from companies and act as a deterrent, as well as recovering losses to compensate shareholders,” AP7 stated.

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