Swedish pension fund fires CEO over investments in Silicon Valley Bank

Sweden’s largest pension fund Alecta solution on the dismissal of Magnus Billing as CEO, with immediate effect. This was preceded by an internal review of losses of $1.87 billion due to investments in US banks First Republic Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Billing will be temporarily replaced by Deputy CEO Katarina Torslund while Alecta’s board of directors selects a new CEO.

American banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which specialized in lending to start-ups, went bankrupt one after the other in early March. And First Republic Bank, a mortgage lending bank, was among the American banks with serious financial problems that arose after the failures of SVB and Signature Bank. As a result, serious difficulties arose for all investors who invested in these three financial institutions. Among such investors was the pension fund Alecta. As the fund said in a statement, “the losses suffered have seriously undermined the credibility of Alecta’s asset management.” Therefore, the board of directors decided that new management was needed, which “will make the necessary changes in asset management and restore lost confidence.” The management of Alecta emphasized that the losses incurred by the fund will not affect the savings of clients.

Alena Miklashevskaya