Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) and Sweden's Seventh AP Fund (AP7) have reached a USD 224.5m settlement in principle with KPMG, the former external auditor of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

The settlement was made on behalf of the class of investors in the US securities class action following the bank’s collapse in March 2023.

NBIM and AP7 were the co-lead plaintiffs in a securities class action case against SVB, in Federal court in the United States.

NBIM stated that the fund and other SVB investors had suffered significant losses on their investments in SVB securities.

In the case, it was 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.

The settlement is subject to court approval, and the case against the other defendants continues.

“The settlement is an important first step toward recovering investor losses from one of the largest bank failures in US history,” said NBIM CEO, Nicolai Tangen.

“It was reached after more than three years of litigation that has helped strengthen legal protections for investors.

“Investor confidence depends on well-functioning markets and on investors’ ability to enforce their rights.”

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