Norway Sovereign Wealth Fund to Lead Class Action into Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse
Posted on 12/01/2023
Norges Bank oversees Norway Government Pension Fund Global. Norges Bank was appointed by a U.S. Court to serve as a Co-Lead Plaintiff, along with the Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-fonden (AP7), in the ongoing U.S. securities class action relating to the now-bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). It is the first time that Norges Bank will lead a legal action, so called class action, on behalf of a group of investors. The fund and other SVB investors suffered significant losses on their investments in SVB securities due to certain misrepresentations of financial conditions and risk management made by SVB’s former executives, directors, financial advisors and outside auditor.
“We manage money on behalf of all Norwegians. I see it as our duty to take legal action to both maximize our recoveries after the SVB collapse and to signal that this is not acceptable market behavior”, says Nicolai Tangen CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management in a press release.
“Given our role as co-lead plaintiff our aim is to maximize recoveries of all investor losses,” Tangen adds.
Sovereign Wealth Funds and Shareholder Litigation
Singapore’s GIC Private Limited is among a group of SWFs that gets involved in shareholder litigation. For example, in 2018, GIC joined other asset owners in a lawsuit against BP plc over its alleged misstatements related to the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
“It is important for us to take legal action where the alleged conduct raises significant concerns about market integrity. We have clear expectations towards the companies we are invested in and see this as a part of being a responsible investor”, says Chief Governance and Compliance Officer Carine Smith Ihenacho in a press release.
The sovereign wealth fund has a dedicated staff of professionals, including in-house U.S. litigators, who will ensure the effective oversight of this litigation.
Keywords: SVB Financial Group.
