The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) has closed its investigation into Alecta’s investments in three US banks, after finding that no violations of the rules occurred.

Since 2023, FI has investigated the pension provider’s investment activities and risk management approaches, following the group's revelation of losses of SEK 20bn.

The investigation considered whether Alecta had met the requirements for measuring and valuing risks in listed shares. As the assessment found no violations of regulations in the risk management system for assessing investment risks that Alecta has had in place, the case was dismissed.

"It is clear that Alecta has made large losses as a result of these investments, but we cannot conclude that Alecta has violated the regulations," FI head of the operations area, Leonard Weber Landgren, said.

The SEK 20bn losses were the result of exposure to three US banks (Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, and Signature Bank) during a period of turbulence in the US banking market.

Following the collapse of the three US banks, Alecta CEO, Magnus Billing, stepped down after the board decided that relieving Billing of his duties would help restore trust in the pension company.

He was replaced by Katarina Thorslund, who was appointed as acting CEO, and Ingrid Bonde was appointed as working chair of the board.

However, the company struggled to appoint a permanent chair of the board since Bonde, resigned in October 2023, amid the investigations. Magnus Hall was appointed as chairman earlier this year, following FI’s approval.

In 2024, the FI expanded its investigation into Alecta to see if it followed the correct regulations in relation to its investments in the indebted real estate company, Heimstaden Bostad, in which Alecta lost SEK 12.7bn.

The preliminary findings of FI’s investigation found that Alecta had “violated several regulations” in relation to its investments. However, the FI clarified that the investigation of Alecta in relation to the investments in Heimstaden Bostad is still ongoing and is not affected by this decision.

Commenting on the decision, Alecta CEO, Peder Hasslev, said: "We have taken note of the FI’s decision to dismiss the investigation into Alecta's investments in three US banks. FI has assessed whether there is a legal basis to give Alecta a sanction.”

Hasslev noted that, regardless of FI's investigation, Alecta initiated work in 2023 to assess whether the provider needed to implement improvements in its organisation, given what was happening in the US banks and the situation with Heimstaden Bostad.

“The work made it clear that we needed to improve and strengthen our asset management, which resulted in an ambitious and comprehensive improvement program with a focus on governance, risk management and competence,” Hasslev said. “The improvement program has been completed today, which has made Alecta stronger and safer for our customers.”

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